Spinning Wheel
by the.nerd.voice
Summary: When Charlotte arrives "home", she finds it incredibly difficult to adjust to the fact that she isn't able to do the things she once did. Will Bernie and Marcus be able to help her realize this together or will Serena and Cameron help her prove them wrong? What will they all think when she begins to share aspects of her life that once was with them? Sequel to Teal Hair
1. Chapter 1

Charlotte Wolfe stares at her reflection in the full length mirror on the door of the washroom within her parents' house. Well, to be more exact, it's her mother's partner's house that they now share. Her head pounds like a hangover and the skin under her eyes glows yellow from her still healing concussion. She runs a hand through her hair, wrinkling her nose a bit at it. Charlie managed to get her mother to take a nap. Sure, she promised she would take one too, but she simply isn't tired. She had taken to the stairs, pulling with her arms and letting herself down one by one via sitting. Charlie was nothing if not resourceful.

Hearing the door open and shut tenderly, she was surprised that Serena would make her way home so early. It was their second day home. They were doing okay. Jason Haynes notices someone sitting on the bottom step. Someone he somewhat recognizes. "Charlotte?" When she looks up at him confused, he smiles a little, "Auntie Serena said you were coming to live here for a bit. I won't be here as often. I'm going to be a Dad."

"Well, good for you, mate." Charlie nods toward him, shielding her eyes. Serena loved to let the light in with these wispy drapes. Windows open and just, air flowing through. "I'm sorry to ask you for something since you just stepped in, but could you push that closer?" She motions to the wheelchair near the front door.

"Of course." Jason offers her a gentle smile, "I work at Holby as a porter. It's my job." He does as asked, even opening it up for her, "Let me help you get in." When she looks at him quizzically, he tilts his head to the side, "Don't you remember me?"

The young woman licks her lips, "Jimmy...Jacob...Joe..." She studies him, "It starts with a J. I remember that much."

"I'm Jason." He nods, able to lift her from the step and place her in the chair. "Are you here alone? If you can't get into your chair-"

"Mum is sleeping...and I'd like for her to stay that way, if you wouldn't mind." Charlie takes a moment before pushing herself toward the kitchen. "Fancy a cuppa?"

"I don't really like tea...or coffee." Jason follows behind, "I can see if we have any hot cocoa left." He doesn't know what to make of this familiar, yet uncommon person being within his usual space. It wasn't that he minded Charlotte Wolfe in the least, she seemed very kind during Elinor's last Christmas, but he just doesn't really know her. "Do you like cocoa?"

"I'd love some cocoa." She smirks, "That's a great idea, Jason."

The young man manages to find a few packets of it in one of the higher cabinets, filling the electric kettle and putting it on after. Serena bought him one when he accidently forgot about the boiling water in the regular kettle while one of his quiz shows were on, and nearly set fire to the kitchen. "So, did you forget a lot of your memories?"

"Well, if I remembered the memories I forgot, I wouldn't have forgotten them in the first place." Charlotte explains to him, remembering more about him and his Autism now. "So, you're going to be a dad. Are you excited?"

"I guess." Jason nods, turning to face her as they wait for the water, "it's going to be a girl. My girlfriend is going to be a really good mother...and I want to be a good a father as well." He watches the young woman, "Auntie Serena said you were a teacher."

It's still a bit of a sore spot for her. She keeps the card of well wishes from her class at her bedside. "Once upon a time."

The young man moves closer to her, noticing the wound to her head, "Does that hurt?"

Charlie huffs a chuckle to herself, "Well, it doesn't feel great."

Jason pulls back instinctively, "I'm sorry that I didn't come to visit you while you were in hospital. Auntie Serena said Auntie Bernie needed to spend lots of time with you because you were very sick...that you had surgeries." He watches her, hearing the water begin to boil. "Do you like marshmallows in your cocoa?"

"We are on the same wavelength, my friend." She motions a ripple of a wave with her hand in the air. Reaching into the breast pocket of her button down pajama top, she slides sunglasses onto her face. "Bloody hell, it's bright in here. How have you put up with it all this time?"

"It doesn't bother me." He shakes his head, "I don't like the dark."

"Hell, I'd live in a cave if it had good wifi." Charlie offers him a smirk. She glances down at the wheelchair her parents bought her, "I bloody hate this thing." She pauses, "I mean, I'm incredibly thankful for their kindness in working together to pick one they thought would best suit my needs, but...I don't really want to use it."

"What about when you're upstairs?" Jason watches her, offering her a mug of cocoa with small marshmallows floating throughout. The mug itself has _World's Best Mum_ written on the side, causing the young woman to chuckle a laugh to herself. "I mean, you aren't really able to carry your chair upstairs when you go back and forth."

"Well, I try not to go back and forth." She answers honestly. "I can stand with something to hold onto, which the loo upstairs has because of...what-her-name's old Mum."

He furrows his brow, "Don't you remember Auntie Serena?"

"Serena, yes. Well, I remember her, but...I just can't get her name to stick with me...which I feel terrible about." Charlie takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "I hate all of it."

"That's understandable." Jason takes a seat at the kitchen table, which her chair has a space for at the end. "Do you believe you came home too soon from hospital? Maybe you should have stayed longer. If you can stand, you can walk, right?"

"Mind over matter, I guess." She clears her throat, "And if I stayed in bloody hospital another day, I'd have killed someone with my bare hands."

The young man pauses a moment, furrowing his brow, "Why would you kill someone with your bare hands?"

Charlie lifts her head to look at him, "Out of frustration..." She lifts the mug to her mouth, taking a sip of the hot liquid, "Out of...my own anger. I don't mean it literally, Jason, I mean it figuratively. The nurses and doctors there were all incredibly kind. In fact, your aunt herself was the one to do my surgeries...for which I'm eternally grateful."

"But you forget her name." Jason continues to study this young woman before him. He takes in the tattoos along her arms and her oddly colored hair. The scars able to be seen on her scalp and the bandages though her button down pajama top.

"So you can see my dilemma in not ever remembering it." She hears her mother get out of bed upstairs and tilts her head toward the noise. "She'll call for me in-" She's interrupted by the woman calling her name, "told you."

The young man rises from his seat, walking to stand at the bottom of the stairs, "Auntie Bernie, Charlotte and I are on the ground floor." He calls up the steps, hearing the younger woman chortle to herself in the kitchen.

Bernie makes her way to the top of the stairs, tilting her head to the side, "Hello, Jason." She descends the stairs, giving him a hug when he outstretches his arms toward her. "It's so good to see you."

"Same to you." He nods, his shift usually during his Auntie Serena's, he oftentimes doesn't get to see her partner, "Would you care for some tea? Charlotte and I are having hot cocoa. It's a chocolate drink. I can make you cocoa if you want." Jason asks, hopeful. He follows behind the older woman when she makes her way toward the kitchen.

"Tea would be lovely, Jason. If you wouldn't mind." She offers him a gentle smile and a pat on the arm before folding her own arms across her chest, "So, how did you get down here?" She pointedly looks toward her daughter, who happens to be sitting at the kitchen table with sunglasses on her face. "I thought you fell."

"Tah-dah." Charlie waves her eyebrows, taking another sip of her hot cocoa. "I have not, well...not yet."

Bernie look turns unamused, "Did you crawl down?"

"I'm not telling you, you're liable to put up baby gates."

"Baby gates are an excellent method to keep children from going near stairs. Luckily, Greta and I live in a flat and haven't any need for them. I imagine Auntie Serena may install some though...she already put together a nursery." Jason nods, pushing a mug of Bernie's tea in front of her before taking a seat himself. Noticing the younger woman's satisfied smile toward him.

"What did you get?" Charlie tilts her head looking at her mother's mug, "Oh, some theatre thing. I'm the World's Best Mum, so please refer to me as such." She winks toward Jason, who is just smiling toward her. Amused immensely by the young woman. "Why does it matter how I got here? I just did it."

"You could have really hurt yourself. You're still healing, Charlotte." Bernie scowls toward her daughter.

"But I didn't."

"I helped Charlotte into her chair." Jason offers, "She was at the bottom step when I came in." The young man offers a gentle smile.

"See? Jason to the rescue. I was fine." Charlie leans back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest. "Did you think I was going to come here and sit around? Be too afraid to move? Be depressed? I can do that by myself." She begins to shake her head slowly, "No, I refuse to allow whatever this is to hinder my...existence."

Bernie stands, mug still in hand as she pushes in the chair of the kitchen table, "Listen to me, if you hit your head again, while it is still healing, Charlotte, it could cause another bleed. You would be back in hospital for even longer. If you'd like, I can have Dr. MacMillan explain that to you during your appointment tomorrow because you obviously aren't listening to me." Her eyes show a sense of disappointment as she walks away from them. She didn't want to bring the young woman home so early, if it weren't for Serena's insistence, she wouldn't have.


	2. Chapter 2

Jason watches Charlotte as she sleeps on the sofa of his Aunties' house. He kneels comfortably on the floor next to her, looking to her tattoos. He smiles a little to himself at how odd and original some of them are. Noticing her wolf with Wolfe and her lightbulb. He sees a scalpel and music notes and a microphone. He's so mesmerized that he doesn't hear the door open. He notices the tattoos on her abdomen due to the few open buttons at the bottom of her pajama top.

Serena can smell her nephew's cologne. Anyone could from a block away. The house relatively quiet except for the soft speaking of the television. She makes her way, only a few steps, to her lounge, furrowing her brow when she sees her nephew, "Jason, what are you doing?"

The young man is taken by surprise, he turns his head to face her, managing to keep his voice quiet, "I don't like it when you do that."

"I'm sorry." She sets her work satchel onto the ground, slowly removing her navy trench coat. "I did ask a question though. What are you doing?" Serena folds her arms, "More importantly, why is she down here and where is Berenice?"

"Charlotte has many tattoos." Jason nods a little, "You don't like tattoos."

"I just don't see the point of them." Serena takes a seat in the chair near them, "They fit Charlotte though. Each one means something to her. She even has one for Elinor."

"The lightbulb. It's the only one that makes sense." He reasons, slowly standing, "I think she might have angered Auntie Bernie." Jason tilts his head to the side, "I'll look at the tattoos of her other arm at another time. I need to get back to check on Gretta."

"How is she?" She isn't able to keep an interested closed mouth smile from her face.

"Very large." He nods, answering honestly. "Goodbye, Auntie Serena." Jason walks past her, leaving through the front door. He had already been there for a couple hours and simply arrived to wish Auntie Bernie's daughter wellness. He didn't come to stay a while, at least not today. The bus lines memorized from the stop at the corner from the woman's house. He knows it well.

Serena closes her eyes a moment, taking a deep breath. She isn't quite certain how the young woman was able to get down the stairs, or onto the sofa for that matter. She's curious about what her nephew ment about angering Bernie. She bites her lip for a moment as she slowly exhales, thinking what she should tackle first.

Bernie lounges on the bed they share, mobile in her hand as she looks through various pictures her son had uploaded onto his social media. Himself doing various things with his sister's possessions. She rolls her eyes, knowing he's just doing it to make her daughter laugh when she finally decides to take a look. She sends him a text message, _Please don't break anything._

The silver haired surgeon stands in the doorway, watching her partner chuckling to herself. "Charlotte is asleep on the sofa downstairs." Bernie's slowly lifts her glance toward her, causes her to raise her eyebrow, "What happened?"

She shrugs a little, "She won't listen to me."

"Oh?" Serena moves closer to the bed, laying near the woman's feet, "A Wolfe not listen to someone else? Well, I never-"

"She's going to end up hurting herself." Bernie shakes her head a little, watching the woman. "I don't want her to hold herself back, but...I need her to slow down." She keeps thinking about the young woman falling down the stairs, or tripping in the kitchen...literally anything.

"Well, maybe not give her any pain medications." She waves her eyebrows, "Because I can't have you being so upset with your daughter." Serena sits up a bit, "Who is living under your roof again...and asleep on the sofa downstairs. Caught Jason checking out her tattoos. Hopefully he doesn't get any ideas."

"Well, maybe when the baby is born-"

"No. That's the last thing he needs."

Bernie grins, leaning forward to peck her lips against that of her partner's, "If Charlotte is able to get herself downstairs, surely she can get herself back up." She feels the need to be close to the other woman, pouting playfully. "We can just...have some time together."

"We both know that is a bad idea." Serena shakes her head slowly, "You gave Cameron a key here and if he's even remotely as...inquisitive as Jason, I'm sure that isn't something he'd ever want to-"

"Your mind went dirty fast." The blonde gives a low, throaty chuckle. She pauses, turning her head a bit when she hears a thud. A thud that isn't in her room, or on the same level. "Hold on." Bernie slowly stands, moving around and listening at the top of the stairs, a trail of quiet expletives is heard from the floor below. She rushes down the stairs, remembering where Serena said her daughter was napping.

Charlie awkwardly holds onto the sofa and coffee table, having fallen off. "Didn't hit my head. Promise." She groans, trying to push herself up to sitting position. She pulls her knees up, making an effort to do so. Trying to keep herself from getting frustrated, which isn't really going well. Her eyes begin to tear up, hands clutching into fists.

Bernie quickly moves the coffee table out before the young woman can kick it, knowing she quickly lashes out when she's frustrated by throwing or kicking something. "Okay." She carefully takes a seat next to her daughter on the floor, placing an arm across her shoulders. She isn't sure if she should say anything, but knows she doesn't need to once Charlie leans against her.

"I'm sorry." Her voice ragged, trying to wipe her face of tears fallen. Charlie swallows, "I am, Mum. I'm sorry."

"Things aren't going to get better for you unless you listen to me." Bernie gently presses a kiss against her daughter's temple, "You'll get out of bed soon and we'll work on you doing little by little, but it can't all happen at once." She offers a reassuring smile toward the young woman, "It just doesn't work that way."

"And you'll fail...you'll fail time and time again, but that's how you get better." Serena offers from her seat in the accent chair, having followed her partner down, knowing she could aid her partner if needed.

Charlie hadn't noticed her before. She lifts her head, wiping her face again, grinning toward the woman, "Mum's girl."

"Serena will help as well. We're both here to help you. Of course, so are Cam and your father, when they're able to. However, you live here with us. Remember, Big Brother." Bernie offers, hearing the younger woman giggle to herself. She runs a hand along her hair. "You'll go to appointments with Roxanna and your physical therapist, just like you did when you were a patient at the hospital."

"Obviously." The young woman continues to lean against her mother, not wanting to divulge the real reason she continues to push herself as hard as she does.

Serena tilts her head to the side, "Your nose is bleeding." She pushes the box of tissues toward her near step-daughter.

Charlie curls her lip, instinctively wiping her nose along her arm, seeing the blood covering the ink. "Happens with the headaches sometimes." She lets her mother hold the tissue, "Is it always this bright in your house though? All the rooms, every floor. I have an eye mask at the apartment. Think Cam would bring it over?"

"Wouldn't hurt to ask." Bernie motions for her daughter to hold the tissue herself, "And you're certain you didn't hit your head?" When she receives a look from the young woman, she continues, "Alright." Bernie sighs, "Need help getting back onto the sofa?"

"You know, Jamie, he just lifts you up when you need to be moved. Is that what they teach porters at Holby?"

Serena smirks, "Jason...and no, I'm guessing he only did so in that way because it was you." She shakes her head slowly, moving near the young woman on the floor, "Bern?" She waits for her partner to position herself in order to help her partner lift her daughter back onto the sofa. When she counts down, they lift her together, groaning. "There we are. Better?"

"Well, you're both out of breath so..." Charlie glances to both of the women, "I should have gone back to my flat. I feel like a burden."

"Not a burden when you're invited." The silver haired woman takes a seat next to her, "We'll order take away-"

"And your father is coming over tonight to help get you to bed." Bernie glances to them both, "It's what he has available and he wouldn't take _no_ for an answer." She offers a quick smirk, "We can be progressive parents...working together."

"There's always a first time for everything." Charlotte winks towards her mother, nudging her mother's partner, who she can hear give a low chuckle. Noticing her mother, though amused, shoot her partner a _work with me_ look. Charlie turns her head to face the silver haired woman.

"Well, she isn't wrong, darling." Serena leans forward, obtaining the remote control for the television and offering it to the young woman. Somehow, she knows this is going to work out just fine.


	3. Chapter 3

Marcus actually quite likes Serena's home. Larger than what he expected. He has no doubt she's given his daughter space of her own and plenty of room to do as she pleases. He was let into the house by his wife, who he knew would retire almost immediately after. Which she did. He stands just beyond the doorway, in the lounge. "Charlotte, my love." He helped them the day prior to bring her home. He wasn't sure she was physically ready, but he had a feeling she was more than prepared mentally. "You look very comfortable."

"Oh?" Charlie glances toward her father, her memory of him going in and out. She remembers his anger towards her mother when the woman came out to him. She doesn't like that memory, but she thinks it's why she initially was afraid of him. "These pajamas were in the pensioner section of-"

"Worn like that? I highly doubt it." He furrows his brow, being playful with the young woman. He didn't understand her reaction toward him in the least, but he remembers Bernie saying how some of her friends she served with reacted differently with TBI. Charlotte, for the majority of her life, could get away with bloody murder where her father was concerned. She still could now, but he doubts she'd ever take the chance.

The young woman glances down, the top few buttons together over her chest, leaving her midriff exposed for the most part. "When was the last time you saw a pensioner in pajamas like these?" Shorts expose her legs, as well as the healing bruises.

"Mum said you need bandage changes-"

Charlie quickly shakes her head, "You don't need to do that."

Marcus glances away, knowing the young woman was still afraid of him for something or another. Feeling unwanted was the worst feeling. "Charlotte, if you get another infection-"

"I won't get another infection." She looks toward her knees from her position on the sofa, having managed to pull them up under herself. Something about a man touching her so soon after her attack. Charlotte knows she's being ridiculous and this is her father, but...

"Listen to me." He kneels in front of his daughter, making her look into his eyes with the gently adjustment of her chin with his knuckle, "Whatever you feel, whatever is going on in that head of yours...I'm your Dad. I'm always going to be your Dad. Nothing is going to change that. Even your Mum...who, instead, decided to give you another Mum." Marcus notices her smirk slightly, amused even though tears are forming in her eyes. "I would never, in all the world, ever hurt you."

"Yeah." Charlotte, inhaling slowly, nods, "I know you wouldn't." A tear finally escapes the enclosure of her lower lid, gliding down her cheek.

"If I ever...catch that scum on the street, you had better believe I will risk these beautiful surgeon hands and beat him to a pulp." His tone serious as he sits up, though he's attempting to make her laugh, noticing his daughter chewing on her lip, "Your mother does that when she wants to say something, but won't..."

The young woman shakes her head, "No..I'm uh..." She pauses, "All I ever do is cry anymore. I take these pills for anxiety and all I ever do is cry." She inhales, tilting her head back, "I didn't want to cry in front of you...and I don't know why. She...draws it out of me."

"I don't care if you cry. I want to help you, but...you can cry as much as you want." Marcus shakes his head slowly, gingerly crawling up to take a seat next to her on the couch. "Your old man isn't what he used to be to be on the floor." Maybe if he changes the subject, he thinks.

"She and I had a...disagreement earlier." Charlie pauses, running a hand through her hair, which was slowly losing its color at this point. "I...managed to get myself downstairs. I took my time, I just...Jason helped me get into my chair. Luckily he stopped in to wish me well. He's a sweet guy."

Marcus furrows his brow, "How did you get downstairs?"

"Jesus, you sound as bad as her." She turns her head to meet his eyes, "What does it matter? I just did it. I'm not an invalid. I can do things."

He shakes his head, "Not things like that. Not while you're still healing." He sighs, "You know, you aren't going to like it, but I actually agree with your mother on this one. Maybe do stairs next week. You could have fallen, hit your head, reopened new wounds, gained new ones-"

"Or, and hear me out, none of that happened and I safely descended the stairs with no injury whatsoever."

"Charlotte-"

Charlie shakes her head slowly, "I need independence."

"Look." Marcus gently moved his daughter's arms so her hands could be in front of her, obviously trembling as they've been for the past two weeks, "because of this, you could have lost your grip. You aren't able to control your legs completely yet and they could have buckled underneath you and let go."

She doesn't know if she should respond, pulling her hands from him, folding them across her chest again. "You can go. I'll just sleep here tonight."

"Like hell, Charlotte Dunn." He shakes his head, standing again, "You can be angry all you want, but I'm still your father and I'm still going to take care of you."

"Even if it's against my own wishes?" Charlotte doesn't make eye contact with him anymore, making it a point not to when he tries.

"Especially if it's against your wishes. You can't always get what you want." Marcus sighs a little, "I won't change your bandages if you don't want me to, but I will take you upstairs to your room. Your mother really shouldn't be lifting you too much with her back the way it is, which I know she ignores."

"My name isn't Charlotte Dunn anymore."

"Which I also don't approve of." He actually doesn't really care. When his son told him about the change in the hospital, he was more amused than anything. A son like him, a daughter like her. Marcus smiles reassuringly to her, "Serena said she may even get a seat installed for you, to take you up and down the stairs."

"Mum's girl." Charlie smirks a little, surprised she remembers the woman's name to her face, "So, what's the plan then? You'll lift me like some sort of Prince Charming and carry me to my room?" She pauses when she notices him nod, "What about your back? You're ancient."

He knows she's teasing him, but pretends to be offended anyway, "I'll have you know that I have been exercising every morning. Cardio and strength for two hours. I've turned to a plant based way of life." Marcus carefully places his arm under her knees and around her back, lifting with his legs, "I figure this could take care of both strength and cardio for about twenty minutes of those two hours. Go limp, Char."

The young woman does as asked, "Heavier than you thought?" She places an arm around his shoulders, gently leaning against him like she did when she was a child.

Marcus is nearly brought to tears, wanting to hold his daughter like this for so long, but never having the opportunity to. "Much lighter actually. I can deadlift one-hundred and fourteen kilos, I'll have you know." The years she's shut him out and the time she was afraid of him in hospital. This is all he's ever wanted, to hold his daughter again.

"Am I supposed to be impressed by that?" Charlie smirks to herself, not actually realizing the significance this has to her father. Not realizing how much this closeness means to him.

"Maybe a little." He smirks, reaching the top of the stairs, he glances about, "Which?" Noticing her point down the hall, he follows obediently, glad the door is already open. Marcus hears her ask some AI service to turn the lights on, which they do and he notices just how fitting it all was. "Did you put this together?" He gently lays the young woman onto the bed.

"Not a lick of it." She shakes her head, "I told Mum a story once about this pub that has a drink named after me, the place Robinson performed our very first gig...it's kind of an important place to me." Charlie clears her throat, smiling proudly, "And if they found pictures on the internet, this is what it would look like if that place had a secret bedroom in the back."

"That's impressive."

"It is." Charlie nods, "I feel like I'm at a hotel...a haunted hotel. I love it."

"I wouldn't say it's that foreboding." Marcus folds his arms, noticing pictures on the wall, "I mean, there's photographs of us...even you and Serena."

"Yes." She smiles a little, "That one on the bottom right is Serena's daughter, in case you ever wanted to know."

"Spitting image." He quickly glances to his daughter, who hums her agreement. Marcus turns his attention back to the pictures, "Hell, I may pay her to come and redecorate my place." He smiles a little, returning to his daughter. "Bed is comfortable?"

"I've been at rest, in a bed, for two weeks."

Marcus raises an eyebrow, nodding, "Point taken." He sighs, taking a seat next to her, "You know, I could tell you a bedtime story if you'd like."

Charlie smirks, amused. "I've heard enough Peter Rabbit for a single lifetime."

"What about the _Tiger Who Came to Tea_?"

"Dad!" She giggles quietly to herself.

"Fine." He puts his hands up in resignation before lowering them and taking her hand, "I'm really glad you're out of hospital, Char. I'm proud of you for getting this far." Marcus tells her honestly, knowing she doesn't really like it when he's a sap. "So, did she give you a television in this joint?"

"Funny you should ask...here's where it gets cool." Charlie calls for the AI in the room to turn on the television, waiting for him to notice that it's behind the mirror.

"Oh, no way." Marcus gets up, walking over to the area, "Now, I'm jealous."

"Thought you would be." She smirks, watching her father's amazement, "All Serena said was that she didn't like the look of televisions in bedrooms and...somehow, someone was able to do that. Really though, the science behind it, a mirror is just glass. There's two-way mirrors everywhere. Used in interrogation rooms all over the world. Common stuff. No reason why it shouldn't work, really."

He turns slowly, "Are all the televisions in the house like this?"

"Well, the one in the lounge isn't. The one in her and Mum's room is. There's even small ones in the toilets...but they're only really used for important things...like Strictly...and catching up on the weather and traffic reports before they head out for the day." Charlie pauses, "Or so Mum says."

"Does your brother know about these?" Marcus smirks, when she shakes her head negatively. "He's going to want one for himself."

"Well, he's currently staying at my flat. So, if he wants to gift me one for my mantle, where there's otherwise no television because I mostly just listen to radio, he's more than welcome to." Charlie retrieves the television remote from the top drawer of the table beside her bed. "We can watch something before you go, if you'd like."

He walks closer to the bed, surprised she's offered, "Good idea, my sweet Charlotte."


	4. Chapter 4

Serena runs a hand through her short hair. Having told her partner that she would tend to getting Charlotte up and going for the day. She figures they need a bit of time to get to know one another. Still clad in her pajamas, which she usually changes after breakfast, she moves to the young woman's room, noticing it still ajar. She pauses for a moment, wondering if she's made another venture down the stairs. Deciding to look into the room more, she notices Charlotte cuddled up against her father's side. It does strike her as a surprise, but it also warms her. She knows the young woman kept pushing her father away while she was in hospital. However, them laying here like this...there was something endearing about it. It stops her in the hall, the emotions she wasn't aware she was going to feel about something so simple. Clearing her throat quietly, she goes back to her partner, who was still asleep in bed, "Berenice." She whispers, shaking her arm a little.

Bernie had been sleeping like a dream for the first time in weeks. She was not only in a real bed, but wrapped up against the love of her life. It was perfect. Feeling someone shake her awake, she opens her eyes groggily, propping herself up on her elbow, "What is it?" She whispers, only half understanding that this wasn't a dream.

"He's still here." Serena motions toward the door with a wave of her hand.

"Who?"

"Marcus...Marcus is still here."

Bernie furrows her brow, "Well, tell him to make us breakfast." She turns over, ready to close her eyes again, only to be followed by her partner. "Yes?"

"He's asleep." Serena pauses, crouching a little to be at eye level with her partner, "Here...in the house."

The blonde opens her eyes more, bringing a hand up to wipe the sleep from them, grabbing her mobile from her side table next to the bed. Standing, she stretches slowly, "Is he like...on the couch?"

"No, he fell asleep in Charlie's bed. They're all..." She sighs, attempting to find the words for how they were laying, but discovering she was at a loss for them. "It's...actually rather sweet, honestly." Serena takes the woman's hand, leading her to her daughter's bedroom even though she knew exactly where it was.

Silently entering the room, Bernie can't help but smile to herself. She lifts her mobile, taking a picture of them to print later for her ex-husband, knowing he'd love to have it. She moves from the room, pulling her partner with her, "I've just thought of something brilliant." Bernie leads her back to their bedroom, using her bedroom AI hub, "Play _76 Trombones_ from The Music Man in Charlie's room."

"Oh, you're wicked." Serena starts to grin, amused greatly by her partner. She stands in the doorway of her own room, listening as the machine in her near step-daughter's room begins to play the song requested, the people within it yelling with surprise.

"Stop!" Charlotte screams out, placing her hands over her eyes, glad when the loud band music stops. "Mother!" She calls out loudly, propping herself up with her elbow.

Marcus folds his arms over his eyes, "Is it always this bright in here?"

"That's what I said." Charlie winces, using her own hand to shield her eyes, "Berenice Griselda Wolfe." She calls again, "Just remember, this system works both ways. What comes around, goes around." She lays back down, snuggling back up against her father. "First time sleeping at your ex-wife's girlfriend's house?"

The man rubs his hands over his face, then the sleep from his eyes, "I didn't plan on falling asleep."

"It's a comfortable bed."

Marcus glances down, smirking a little to himself to see his daughter curled up against him, appearing as if she was five years old all over again. "Sleep well?" He pushes a piece of hair back from her face before wrapping an arm around her, as they were before.

Charlie hums, "I guess..." She pauses, yelling, "until I was rudely awakened." She quiets down, "I'm giving myself a headache." She asks the AI that time it is, only to be told that it's, "Zero-nine-thirty...that's not even a real time."

"You'd wake up earlier than that while you were in hospital."

"But I'm not in hospital anymore."

"True." Marcus nods, absently rubbing his daughter's back. "I'm proud of you, Char. A TBI as bad as your's was...they aren't usually speaking, much less having full blown conversations where words aren't slurred and sentences make sense. Walking will come back, but...you amaze me every single day."

"That's what I hear." Charlie doesn't exactly like to hear it though. She doesn't feel lucky...or worthy of pride. She feels the exact opposite.

He doesn't want to move. Marcus could stay this way forever. "I should get going. I told your Mum I won't be able to come back tonight, but I'll be by the day after." She doesn't respond and he realizes she's fallen back asleep. Marcus carefully slides out from next to her, smiling to himself. He steps past his wife's room, noticing her on the bed, "I must admit, that was a good one."

"Thank you." Bernie answers, amused. She waves a little as he makes his way toward the stairs to leave.

Serena glances back to her, "No anger? No yelling?"

"Olive branches." She yawns, "I'm going back to sleep...like I was doing before someone unnecessarily interrupted my slumber." Bernie knows she probably won't fall back asleep. She'll just lie here with her eyes closed, genuinely relaxing in the most comfortable bed. It was one of the first things they bought together. Something so mundane, but after the incredibly comfortable one within the cabin in France, there was no comparison. They needed a new mattress. "Too bad my girlfriend doesn't want to stick around-"

"I've been awake for the past two hours." She pauses, "Meditating for one of them."

Bernie knows it is one of Serena's best ways of coping the loss of her daughter and getting her head back on straight. She had a feeling that Charlotte's presence may upset the balance for her partner, rehashing old wounds about Elinor. She opens her eyes again, watching the woman, "Are you okay?"

"Right as rain." Serena offers her a quick smile, leaving the room again. Of course Charlotte's presence only makes her think of Elinor. However, she doesn't actually mind it. Maybe she even needed this, she thinks. Stop running away from the feelings and just give in to them. She approaches Charlotte's room, noticing she's fallen asleep again. "Of course." Serena mumbles to herself. She begins to speak to the AI hub with the room, ready to ask it to play another song.

"Don't you dare." Charlie holds her hand up, canceling out the AI command. She continues to lie there with her eyes closed, "Are you taking me to my appointments today?"

"Yes, I was, but only if you don't mind." She moves closer to the bed, placing her hands at her sides.

"Course not. Outing with Mum's girl and Me. I should make a web series." She teases, smirking as she slowly opens an eye, "Dad was very impressed with your house...said he's quite jealous, actually."

"Oh?" Serena takes a seat at the foot of the bed.

"The telly in the mirror did him in." Charlie pushes herself up to a sitting position, shielding her eyes after from the brightness of the sun beaming into the windows. "He liked the photos you chose for the wall over there too." She lazily motions with her free hand. "I don't believe he thought you'd choose ones of him as well."

"He's your father. Just because this is my house doesn't make him any less your father." She shrugs, "He's being kind to your mother, thus far so..." Serena watches the young woman in front of her, "I can be kind to him." She offers, surprised at even herself for putting it into the universe.

"Thank you. I know it's probably taking a lot out of you." The young woman reaches over, gently touching the woman's arm, "So, why are you waking me up so early?" Her light yellow colored summer pajamas cover her frame, button down with a pocket on the breast.

"Would you like for me to make you something for breakfast?"

Charlie raises an eyebrow, trying to keep herself from laughing, "You cook?"

"Well, I can make you an egg and toast. You have medications to take, possibly bathe, get dressed. All so we can be at your appointment at one in the afternoon." Serena explains, "I only need to do two out of three so, I imagine you'd want to be slightly awake before needing to rush out."

"Well, there's no rushing anywhere anymore, is there..." The young woman sighs, chuckling to herself at the thought, "And no, I'm not really a breakfast person-"

"-oh, thank god-"

"But I could go for some coffee. Will you allow me coffee?" Charlie rubs a hand over her face, trying to get the sleep from her acorn colored eyes. "You don't need to feed me for the rest of the day as long as you give me coffee." She smirks, though it is usually what she has for her first meal of the day, sometimes a bowl of cereal or a Poptart.

"You sound like Bernie now." Serena playfully furrows her brow, "We can do that in a moment. Did your father get around to changing your bandages last night?" When the young woman shakes her head negatively, she continues, "Why not?"

"I didn't let him. It's...it's kind of a long story." She sighs, "But no, he didn't. However, if I'm washing up now, prime chance to do all of that anyway."

"True." Serena nods, "I'll help you get in the shower and-"

"I can do it myself." Charlie offers, receiving a look from the woman, "What?"

"Going downstairs is one thing, but slipping and falling on the bathroom floor is another entirely." The woman shakes her head, "I think you should push yourself a little, which your mother doesn't believe you should do-"

"Neither does my father."

"-and I will help you do that, but you have to take your battles as they come. We can work on showers another time. I bought you a chair. I won't have to be in there as you wash up. I'm just there to get you in and get you out. That's all. Serena explains, noticing the surprised look on the young woman's face, "Independence is a hell of a thing to suddenly lose."

Charlie is so happy at the prospect of taking her own shower without someone looming over her that she nearly claps her hands together, but stops herself, "I'm excited over a pensioner bath chair." She sighs, retaining her grin, "Thank you for understanding."


	5. Chapter 5

Charlotte leans back in bucket seat of Serena's small sports car. "I actually really quite like this. My Mum has a pension for cars and...like weird stuff. I'd be in University and all I'd have to do was call and tell her what sound the car was making and she just knew exactly what it was." She pauses, mimicking her mother's slightly lowerer octave, "Engine's cactus."

Serena smiles a bit to herself, large sunglasses covering her face, "How we met, actually." She reminisces a bit, thinking about her busted car and Bernie smoking. It seems so long ago now.

The young woman huffs her amusement, "Turning on that Wolfe charm."

"You had better believe it." The silver haired woman glances over toward the other as they pause at a stoplight, "If I haven't said it already, or maybe you've forgotten that I have said it in the first place, I am really glad you've decided to live with your mother and I. Not that I believe it to be any sort of competition with your father, it means a great deal to your mother." Serena explains, tucking the very short hair at her temples behind her ear, "and it means a lot to me."

Charlie listens to the woman, slowly turning her head to face her, "I just don't know why you would want me there, honestly." She runs a hand through her curled mane, separating the curls to add gentle volume, "You finally have some peace and quiet with your partner in...forever and you ask a twenty-two year old in a wheelchair to come and live with you."

"It's a large house."

"It is. It's an incredibly lovely house, but that doesn't-"

"I always wanted a large family actually, being an only child all my life. It just wasn't in the cards for me, I suppose." Serena shakes her head, "I thought that Jason and his brood would come to live with us. Babies are not easy. They just aren't. I have no doubt that they'll be able to tend to the baby on their own, but...I don't believe they're anticipating just how much their schedules and ways of life will change." She stops herself, having found the idea frustrating to get herself unhappy about it once more. "You coming to live with us...I never considered anything different. Your brother volunteered to watch over you, and certainly when you're a bit more comfortable with how your body works and moves you can go back to your flat one day, but Cameron is a young man with a new job. It wouldn't be fair to him."

Charlotte nods slowly, "I can understand that. Wouldn't take you for the large family type, though."

"I think it's a common desire of most _only_ children. I never found out I had a sister until she and my mother were both deceased. I'm incredibly thankful for my relationship with Jason every day though, and I don't imagine it would have happened without things falling into place as they did." Serena pulls up to the hospital, parking her car in her reserved space. She doesn't mention her late daughter in her conversation with Charlie, not wanting to ruin the day for herself. She climbs from the driver's seat, moving to the boot to obtain the young woman's chair, setting it up before opening the younger woman's door, "I'm going to help you stand...and then we will pivot...even if that means I have to pivot for you."

"Pivot. Right, got it." It actually goes better than they both anticipated, Charlie insisting on pushing herself as they make their way toward Darwin ward through elevators and hallways. "We should find a large hill. You can sit on my lap and we can go down it like we're on a big dipper. Hands in the air and everything. Just imagine it." She has a grin on her face, even amusing herself. They come to a stop outside the office and she watches Serena sign her name before sitting next to her in a regular chair.

"To which we come to a sudden arboreal or vehicular stop at the bottom of this metaphorical hill." Serena offers an amused smirk. "Like living with another Bernie. Only I sleep with one and the other I wouldn't imagine doing so."

"Well, now that's just an insult." When the other woman looks at her quizzically, "You can dream once in a while about me." Charlie uses her fingers to show a small amount. "It will be our little secret."

Serena is obviously entertained by the young woman. She sighs, curious as to what she's gotten herself into. "You'll be happy to know that I asked your brother to bring one of your guitars when he comes around to dinner tonight."

Another smile grows across the young woman's face, "Good...thank you." She nods slowly, "Won't be able to write anything legible...so all the songs have to stay up in this loose siv." Charlie taps her head with her finger, sighing after. She turns to glance to Serena again, "Do you sing?"

"Me? Oh no...absolutely not. Couldn't carry a tune to save my life." Serena shakes her head, vehemently denying the notion, "when I was a child, my mother told me to audition to be in our church's children's chorus. There were about ten of us. My little school mates and myself. They, essentially, accepted everyone. However, the director came up to me after and said she _wouldn't mind if I quit._ I didn't want to do it in the first place, but then I had to stay just to spite her."

Charlie gives a deep throaty chuckle. "And now look at you. You've come a long way, baby." She lifts her head when she hears her name called, "Are you coming in?" She begins to wheel herself toward the door, pausing to hear the other woman's response.

"No, you go ahead. Fill me in after. I'm going to give your mother a call. She promised she would attempt to figure out what your brother likes to eat so that food is there not long after he arrives later." Serena nods.

The young woman smirks, "He's just going to say chicken fingers." Charlie shakes her head, following the nurse to a back examination room area.

Serena reaches into her purse, obtaining her mobile. She lifts it to eye level, touching the picture of the face of her partner. She waits a few moments only to have her partner answer, sounding out of breath. "Did I catch you jogging, darling?"

"No, not this time." Bernie smirks to herself, "I was cleaning the back garden so that maybe we can sit back there tonight if it stays this nice out."

That's a great idea." She smirks, amused at how domestic they've become at home together. "Did you remember to call Cameron?"

She pauses, "About the food?" When she hears her partner hum affirmently, she continues, "He said chicken fingers. He always gets chicken fingers whenever possible." She hears Serena begin to chuckle, "What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." Serena shakes her head slowly, "She's back in an exam room now. We made out getting here rather well though. I was surprised. I imagined having to get a porter to help get her out of the car since it's rather low to the ground, but...totally smoothe."

"Well, that's good then. We'll take more road trips." Bernie smirks to herself, "I asked Cam to bring by her laptop for her tonight. Figured it should be easier for her to write lyrics or whatever have you with it. He said he's compiling a list...whatever that means."

She knew exactly what it meant, "You know, I grew to know Cameron while we worked together, going to Albie's for drinks and whatnot. However, spending this time with Charlotte has been rather...eye opening. She's absolutely delightful and absolutely you."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Oh, it is." Serena nods slowly even though her partner couldn't possibly see it, "You're back here tomorrow, correct?"

"Yes, Cameron is sitting with her." Bernie wipes the pollen off of the glass top table in the garden, wondering why they don't spend more time outside as she does, "Which I don't imagine she's going to appreciate the notion, but...I don't believe it's time for her to be left home alone just yet."

"Or even if it's the right home to be alone in. I imagine her flat may be a bit easier once we make it assessable." She hopes it isn't anytime soon even though she wants to encourage the young woman, but isn't quite ready for an empty house just yet. "Whenever we let her leave." Serena teases a bit, a closed mouth smile growing across her face.

Bernie pauses, standing upright and stretching back when she feels a twinge. "Yes...thank you." She knows one of the most important things to Serena at the moment is that she have a better relationship with her own daughter. By proxy, giving Serena a relationship with her daughter as well. Something she didn't mind one bit.


	6. Chapter 6

"That's what she offered?" Cameron holds a chicken tender in his hand, furrowing his brow as they sit at the dining room table, night air too cool to sit outside. "So what, like...electrodes on your legs and arms? You'll be Electric Girl." He raises an eyebrow, giving his sister a look. He knows what she's talking about, but making his sister smile means more to him.

"More like large needles inserted at various points of the spine or in the brain." Bernie shakes her head slowly, "Commonly used for pain management. What does she believe is going to happen?"

"Apparently, I'd be an ideal test subject." Charlie waves her eyebrows, "First time I've been an _ideal_ anything." She leans onto the table, "If it works, it could be a breakthrough for Holby neurological department, if it doesn't...who cares?" She offers an amused smile, "I'm back to square one and I continue working with my therapists." She hears a high pitched hum from her mother, knowing it means the woman has a difference in opinion, "Yes?"

"Well, they've done similar procedures to curb certain behaviors...where they burn connections in the brain. Modern day lobotomy." She explains, "Similar side effects can happen with electrode therapy." Bernie folds her arms across her chest, using her tongue to run over her teeth with her mouth closed. "Honestly, in my opinion as a trauma surgeon that has dealt with many TBI patients, majority of which were friends, it's one of those things that you need to...take a look at the risks. If I were in your position, I would not do it."

"I think you're being a bit pessimistic." Serena sips from her glass of shiraz, absently rubbing her earlobe with her other hand. She leans back in her chair, having finished her dinner. "What is there to lose? She walks in five weeks or she walks in five months-"

"Or she doesn't walk at all."

"Or I don't walk at all." Charlie nods, "Ripped the words right out of my mouth." The young woman looks down towards the table, not meeting anyone's eyes, "I told her I'd think about it."

"It's only been two weeks, Charlotte." Bernie stares at her daughter, not believe she'd even consider the notion. "You've already re-learned how to stand. That's a hell of an accomplishment in such a short amount of time."

"I learned to walk when I was-"

"Eight months old. I know, I was there." The blonde stands, starting to collect the dinner plates.

"Were you?" Charlie tilts her head to the side, taking the dig, the one she knew she could take in order to win an argument and get her mother off of her case. She immediately regrets it.

"I was there too." Cam sighs, finishing his chicken tender and standing from the table. He gives his sister's shoulder a squeeze as he walks by her, following his mother into the kitchen, "I can do that, Mum."

Bernie shakes her head, "No, it's fine."

He pushes himself up to sit on the counter near her, "I can dry if-"

"I said it's fine, Cameron." She tries to ignore him.

Cameron nods slowly, watching as she ferociously tries to get a spot off of one of the old, white porcelain plates. He smirks a little, "No dishpan hands for domestic goddess, Berenice Wolfe. She'd rather break the plates instead." Almost on cue, the one she's focused on cracks in half.

Bernie tosses it into the sink, taking a step back, "Shit." She whispers, slowly running her wet hand through her hair.

"I think your speck of dirt was just a chip." He watches her closely, letting the room fall silent just for a moment, "What Charlie said back there...she didn't mean it..."

"Yes, she did." She nods, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what I could do to...help lay it to rest." Bernie swallows, "There's nothing, absolutely nothing I could possibly do to change the past...to affect the course of history. I can't slap a coat of paint on it and pretend it didn't happen."

"We're not expecting you to." Cam watches her.

"I've done...everything I can think of for your sister. If I could have done her surgeries myself, I bloody would have." Bernie stands still, her hands at her sides. "I was with her day and night while she was in hospital. I fed her and...I helped bathe her while she was out of it before that man..." She pauses, "And I didn't stop him."

"Mum."

"They never found him. The man that attacked your sister. They never found the bastard. The detective called Serena to ask if your sister would be up for speaking with him again. If we thought she could handle it." She licks her lips, "I haven't told Charlie yet. She had nightmares while she was in hospitals about him coming back. Didn't have one last night since your father spent the night."

"My father, orthopaedic surgeon extraordinaire Marcus Dunn, spent the night here last night?" Cam appears pleasantly surprised. "At his ex-wife's girlfriend's house?"

Bernie tilts her head to the side, giving her son an unamused look, "It wasn't like a slumber party, Cameron."

"Too bad. Sounds like a rip-roaring time."

She rolls her eyes, folding her arms over her abdomen. "He and I are doing well so far." Bernie nods, edging against the kitchen table, glad the room had a door between them and the dining room. "I can't ask for forgiveness anymore than I already have-"

"Then stop asking for forgiveness." Cam shakes his head slowly, lifting his chin when he hears the soft sounds of the guitar playing, "Seems she remembers how to do that." He slides off the counter, offering his mother his hand. "May I have this dance, Ms. Wolfe?"

Bernie smirks a little, knowing this was his way of making her feel better. She lets him pull her into the other room before swaying with her gently. "You have rhythm, Mr. Dunn."

"Well, I think Charlie and I receive that honestly from you." He waves his eyebrows, hand on his mother's lower back, "Whether you care to admit it or not."

"I won't admit it."

"Didn't think so." Cameron smiles when she places her head on her shoulder.

" _Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise."_ Charlie plays from memory, having heard the song as a babe from her mother often and then performing it during gigs as an adult. _"Blackbird fly."_ Charlie lifts her head, catching her mother's eye, she mouths the word _sorry_ to her, noting her quick smirk in acknowledgement.


	7. Chapter 7

Cameron opens the front door, smiling a little to the detective sergeant in front of him, "DS Morgan, pleasure seeing you again." He pauses, stepping aside and motioning him in with a tilt of his head, "Just kidding, it isn't a pleasure, but Mum filled me in on you're reason for being here."

"Very good." DS Robert Morgan, once undercover, now working on paperwork and interviews to tie up the case he's spent two years building. The devotion from followers of his undercover persona, going by the name of Silver, became lost to him. All resulting in multiple stab wounds and a head TBI for one Charlotte Wolfe.

"Charlie's upstairs. Second door on the right." He nods, pausing. Cam's nervous expression speaks volumes, "Please, don't upset her. She hasn't had a seizure in about a week's time now. I mean, I'm a doctor and I know what to do to treat her, but...I'd rather not."

"Wouldn't dream of it, mate." Morgan gives the young man a quick nod before climbing the stairs and going to the room he was instructed. The door open, he hears an acoustic guitar playing, causing him to smile gently.

" _We're treading water on a river of tears and I don't know what to do. I can take a beating , but I ain't gonna let it happen to you."_ The young woman sings effortlessly, stopping when she feels like she's being watched. She tosses the guitar onto her bed before slowly turning around in her wheelchair. Charlie glances to the doorway, "Silver, a sight for sore eyes."

"Did you write that?" He enters the room more, motioning to the guitar, "That bit you were just singing, you write that?"

"Oh, I wish. One of Pat Benatar's from the eighties." She smirks a little, motioning to her bed and the accent chair in the corner, next to her desk, "Take a seat?"

Morgan nods, "You sing like a lark, The Wolfe." He decides on the accent chair, taking a seat and watching her adjust her position. He knows her being like this is his fault. She said so herself, but whether she remembers that or not, he'll never know. "Glad to be home?"

Charlie nods slowly, "More than you know." She studies him a moment, "Working out?"

He shrugs, "Back to the regular routine." The youngish man pauses, sitting back in his chair, "How could you tell that, I only just started up again a couple weeks ago."

"I'm an observant person." Charlie smirks toward him, "So, DS Morgan, let's get this show on the road, please. I'm getting a bit tired and I'd like a quick wink in before my parents get home from work and think I've just been sleeping all day." She waits for him to pull out his recording device and start it, "Thank you."

"Very good." Morgan nods, "Are you remembering anything new about...anything?"

She bites the skin off her bottom lip, giving it a moment before she can find the courage to answer, "At the hospital when he...came to me, or whatever you're calling it. He kept telling me I was unclean. That I was a chozen one, held in higher regard to any of the other females there. He said that, because of my stitches and...bruises...injuries, that I was ruined for Silver." Charlie swallows, of course she would remember all of that. She heard it in her sleep, over and over. The only restful night she's had without medication was when her father accidently fell asleep in bed with her, she subconsciously knew he would keep her safe no matter what.

The sergeant nods again, "Did you notice any weapons on his person?"

Charlie pauses, thinking a moment, "Not that I recall."

"What did he threaten you with?"

She swallows, keeping her face virtually emotionless, "He said I should have died." She chuckles bitterly with a huff, "If he only knew how much easier that would have been." Charlie sighs, "Don't tell my family I said that though. I'm not planning to do anything, so...it's not even a..." She finds herself rambling a little. "Sorry."

Morgan shakes his head slowly, "It's okay. You're doing a great job." He notices her give a quick smile from the corner of her mouth. "How long have you had a mental illness?"

"Everyone has some type of mental illness. However, more and more people are starting to confuse being mentally ill and being emotionally injured, which are two different things. So, DS Morgan, that isn't the question you want to ask." Charlie yawns, lifting her elbow to rest on the arm of the chair and her fist against her jaw, just underneath her ear.

"Well, Charlotte, I ask it that way because I noticed your cutting scars on your arms...and legs...underneath the tattoos." He explains, "They're older, but-"

"Bravo, Bobby." She can tell he doesn't like to be called by that nickname from the smirk his lip turns up into after she says it. "Yes...I went from that, to drug use in my late teenage years, up until...a little more than two years ago."

Morgan raises an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

"I did hard stuff. LSD, cocaine, whatever I could get my hands on." Charlie clears her throat, "Then I stole a prescription pad from my father...and he didn't even notice that I did it. Mum was still serving and I...couldn't find a way to cope. I did my best to hide it and I really don't think he ever knew because I wasn't really at home much."

"Cope with what?"

"Life." She shrugs, "Doesn't really bloody matter. You aren't my therapist."

"No, I'm not." Morgan shakes his head, "Therapists cost money though, so you may as well take the free ear while you have it." He waves his eyebrows a bit, noticing her smirk amusingly. "What made you stop?"

"Stop what?"

"Taking."

Charlie runs a hand through her messy hair, "Our bassist had this really...weird lung cancer and died. She had three kids, a husband, a life...and she was ripped from them because of fucking cancer." She absently rubs her thumb and forefinger on the bottom of her blouse, "She was like family to me, all of them were. The original crew." She pauses, "And a few months later I bought her kids gifts because I bought them whatever they wanted and...her husband wouldn't let me see them. Just...turned me away like I was nothing. Said she put up with me, but he wouldn't." She swallows, eyes growing misty as she gently touches the surgical dressing on her chest. "And it nearly killed me."

Morgan is intrigued now, folding his arms over his chest, "Metaphorically?"

"Literally. I...had all these pills from the script pads I wrote myself and...started downing them one after another." She shakes her head, "My girlfriend at the time came home and saw me totally fucked on the floor. However, I had told her about my parents and where they worked, because my Mum was also back by then, so we weren't about to go to Saint James or Holby City. So she ran me to this urgent care just outside the city...where they pumped my stomach."

"How the hell did you get a teaching job with all that?" He asks, surprised.

"Don't ever have to give a real name at a clinic...or in hospital, which a lot of people don't realize." Charlie smirks a little. "That's when I started getting tattoos. Every time I'd have a really bad craving or...whatever, I'd go and get inked. Three years ago, I only had an elegant and simplistic heather flower near my ankle, means solitude and protection...and it grows in the wild all gorgeous like that." She nods, slightly amused by herself, "I made sure, though, that each tattoo signifies or represents something or someone to me. Each and every one."

"You quit the drugs cold turkey?" Morgan asks, surprised, "That was rather reckless, don't you think?"

"Lots of sweating, lots of pain, lots of screaming in pain." She shakes her head slowly, "I wouldn't recommend it, but that's the only way I could do it."

"Do you worry about taking medication for pain now?"

Charlie tilts her head to the side, "Not really since I know it's actual physical pain and not emotional pain. I mean, they're being controlled by my Mum and her partner...and my assistant while he's here."

Morgan begins to chuckle to himself, "Your brother?"

"Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe." She nods, noticing him turn off the recorder. "How is your daughter?"

"Oh, I told her that I was coming to visit you." He reaches into his jacket pocket, offering her a gently folded picture on black construction paper, drawn in chalk paint. "She said it's-"

"A heather flower...like the one on my ankle." Charlie begins to grin, "I'd always have one in the classroom since they're my favorite. In a vase, they last about two weeks or so, three if you're really lucky. Best part is when they go bad, you just chop a few from the side of the road to replenish. Always free."

"I'll need to remember that for my wife." Morgan slides the recording back into his jacket pocket, "Thanks for telling me about all of that, Charlie. It will help prosecution when we bring these arseholes to the courts. You're one of our main witnesses of his wrongdoing."

"Won't it look bad on you as well?"

"They already have me on desk duty. Desk duty and interviews. I'm not allowed to do much else except tie the loose ends of this case." DS Morgan stands from his seat, glancing around the room as he makes his way to the door, "It's really nice in here."

"I come from a family of consulting surgeons. Fancy way of saying doctors with money." Charlie pushes herself closer to her bed, "What did you expect?" She notices him think about it for a second before he nods toward her as to say _goodbye_ before finally leaving. Charlie carefully opens the black construction paper again, tears forming in her eyes, but she chooses not to acknowledge them. She knows she needs to try finding her way back to her life.


	8. Chapter 8

Bernie patiently reads through a file containing information about a questionable case before her. She glances across the desks to her partner, noticing that she's doing the same. However, she finds it incredibly distracting to focus on her file with her love sitting there. "I was thinking of going to talk to Roxanna."

Serena wasn't expecting the woman to talk, but knows how she is with complete silence, "About Mrs. Brown?" She furrows her brows slightly, finding a way to separate work life and home life. Of course, she wanted to snog her partner all day long if she could. However, her brain had also discovered how to push those thoughts back a bit. "I thought she has the shattered pelvic belt."

"Oh, no. I mean about that testing with Charlie." She leans back in the seat, "Get her to back down, maybe."

"I don't think Charlie's actually considering it, to be very honest." The silver haired woman glances up briefly, "That's entirely up to you what you want to do, though." She licks her tongue against her top lip, "I thought you were thinking about something important."

"Such as?"

"Drinks later." Serena smirks to herself, hearing an amused soft chuckle come from across the desks. "We haven't had an decent night out in...a while."

Bernie tilts her head from side to side, "Either that or a romantic night in." She waves her eyebrows, "Couple of bottles of shiraz, we can take a soak in the clawfoot tub." Bernie leans forward a little, "I throw in one of the bath bombs and there's soft music playing. I tell the kids we're having wild, tantric sex and they'll leave us alone." She notices her partner blush a little, "Imagine it, Campbell."

She nods a little, "That sounds absolutely delightful."

"If we have a night out, I'd rather be preparing the whole day long for it. Not just going to Albie's where we're looking at one another, wishing we were home...having wild tantric sex-"

"Will you stop saying that?" Serena begins to giggle a little to herself, a grin seeping across her face. She knows Bernie's only saying it to get a rise out of her.

Standing, Bernie makes her way over to edge herself directly next to her partner, "Or we close the blinds and snog like a couple of year ten kids."

Serena shields her eyes from her partner, "Why are you doing this right now?" She shakes her head a little, "The sooner we finish and get these patients out, the sooner we can go home. We're nearly to the end of our shift and if you don't think that I don't want to rip those scrubs off your body right here and now, you'd be mistaken." She finally leans back in her office chair, looking up to her surprised partner, "So, you can tone down that Wolfe charm and head back to your seat because I plan to do much more than snogging when we return home."

"Well, now I'm not sure I'll be able to complete my shift." The blonde stands, "How about just one?

"One what?" She watches the other woman for a moment, realizing she meant a kiss, "No. It's like a bag of crisps with you. You aren't able to have just one and that's all I need is for Abigail to walk by just as we start and question our integrity and commitment to this hospital."

"Your mind is that many steps ahead, huh?" Bernie raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, you have no idea." Serena sits up in her seat, returning to the file she was reading previously.

The blond thinks about leaning down to kiss the other anyway, but is interrupted by the opening of the door, "Yes, Nurse Jackson?"

"Red phone." Donna explains, "ETA three minutes. RTC. Partial ejection coming in for Trauma."

Bernie sighs, standing, "Any other information?" She follows after the nurse.

"Female, age five."

The blond stops in her tracks, furrowing her brow, "What? Why isn't she going directly to Otter?"

"Trauma takes precedence, per the directive from our glorious CEO. Have you not checked your emails?" Donna watches her a moment before moving to the Trauma bay, getting the area ready. "I suppose she wants to make sure the Trust doesn't attempt to close again."

"I didn't get around to it, no." Bernie actually doesn't mind. Appreciative that Abigail would put in the effort. "Get a call to Otter. Let them know we'll have a patient for them once she finishes here." She puts her hands on her hips, taking a breath before moving toward the elevator. She sighs, not liking the idea of handling this. Noticing the elevator moving toward her, she doesn't remember the last time she's performed surgery on a child.

The young paramedic walks through the doorway with the girl on a crash board, head stabilized, "This is Megan Morgan. Temperature thirty-eight. BP eighty-two over fifty-six. Pulse a hundred."

"I need a CBC, cross match. full CT." She stays next to the young girl who cautiously looks up to her, bruised and battered, "Hello there, Megan. My name is Bernie."

The young patient watches up at the woman, studying her face. She's very obviously terrified. Her eyes start to dampen. "I want to go home."

"Me too, which is why we're going to work together." Bernie offers the girl a reassuring smile before glancing up to look to the paramedics, "Any word on her parents?" She aids her nurses in transferring the young girl to a gurney.

"Unconscious father went to Saint James, mother was DOS. She's and a couple of the minorly injured ones are the only ones coming here. You all were equipped for it." The paramedic explains, waving a little to the girl before leaving through the clear flapped fringe in the doorway.

"Megan, I'm going to push around on your tummy and I need you to tell me if it hurts." The blonde nods, being gentle yet firm, sighing when she hears the girl yelp loudly. "Let's get her to theater for an emergency laparotomy. I'll be right there." She turns, moving to the office where her partner was still going over paperwork. "Campbell, the name Megan Morgan ring any bells? RTC is just a kid."

Serena lifts her head, furrowing her brow slightly, "Yes, but I'm not exactly sure why."

Bernie nods, her face appearing as if she's still searching her mind, "I'll be in theater."


	9. Chapter 9

Charlie lounges groggily in her bed, mumbling to the small AI device in her room, "What time is it?" She listens as the machine tells her it's 1:37 in the morning. She groans, rubbing the back of her neck. She slept longer than she thought she would.

"I was wondering when you were ever going to wake up, Chuck."

A voice. She knows that voice, it fills her with dread, having heard it in her nightmares. "Mitchy...what are you doing here?" Maybe she's still sleeping. Maybe this is just another dream. Maybe she'll wake up, for real this time, any second now. Maybe.

Mitchell Duncan, former drummer to Robinson and her attacker while in hospital, and strong follower of the teachings of Silver. He gives a low, throaty chuckle. His voice gravelly due to many years of drug use, "Thought I'd miss out on listening to you plead, maybe you croaked in your sleep."

"You aren't that lucky." Charlotte slowly pushes herself up in bed, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She scoots back, leaning against the headboard, terrified, but she's able to keep it from her face and voice. Telling herself to face the fear head on. _Don't let him see you sweat,_ she tells herself. "Should have told me you were coming over, I'd have made a nightcap."

"Don't play cute. You're a whore. Whores aren't cute." He answers matter-of-factly. "Come here."

"Well, it would probably be easier if you-"

"I said come here."

"Do you see that bloody wheelchair? Do you think it's just for looks?" Charlie watches him, "No, it isn't. My legs don't get me anywhere. So, unless you want to wait a bit and watch as I do some half arsed Army crawl over to you or put myself in that chair, I suggest you come here if you want your needs met."

Duncan begins to chuckle to himself, "Are you really that helpless?"

She licks her chapped lips, "I wouldn't say helpless."

He raises his eye, standing and walking over to her. "I don't think you realize how much you disgust me." His cheeks slightly sunken, eyes tired, skin a mess. She knows he's been on a bender, much longer than he usually is. "How much your existence makes me physically ill..."

"Well, maybe you should see a your GP about that." The comment earns Charlie a heavy fist across her cheek, to which starts to make her nervous, her nose bleeding.

"I said you aren't cute."

"Didn't stop you from sleeping with me."

"Whores don't get to be cute." Duncan shakes his head slowly, "No one has heard or seen Silver since the thing at Terry's house. He jumped the balcony and went to hospital. No one knows where he went or where to even start looking. I think...I think you had something to do with it."

Charlie starts to smirk, "Like what?" She watches as he stares, "What could I possibly do or have done to him? Do you think I'm the head of some sort of secret mafioso?" She's slightly amused by the man.

"I'm not kidding."

"Neither am I, are you cracking up?" The young woman shakes her head, watching as the man begins to crawl onto the bed, straddling her slim, sitting frame. _Keep calm_ , she tells herself.

"Well, if you don't know, this was a wasted trip. So, let's make it worthwhile, shall we, Chuck?" He brings his hands up to her neck, slowly wrapping them around, but not squeezing yet. "You were so pointless. I had you first. Silver will have you last...wherever he may be."

Charlie swallows, the look of fear finally hitting her eyes, "You don't need to do this, MItchy."

"Just because I don't need to, doesn't mean I don't want to." Duncan begins to close his hands in, beginning to strangle her.

Charlie begins to slap against her bedside table looking for anything for self defense. Finally, a biro. Better than nothing, she thinks. Quickly, she brings it up, stabbing it into his neck. Gasping for breath as he lets her go, blood dripping onto her shirt. She uses the room AI to turn on the light, "Ring Cameron." She bites her lips, hearing the man writhing on the hardwood floor. She feels herself beginning to tense up, "Fuck." She leans back, letting the seizure take her.

Cameron furrows his brow as he sits in the lounge, having been watching the large television and eating popcorn. He would stay on the sofa tonight, but he wasn't ready for sleep just yet. His phone blinks his sister's name, but nothing is heard when he answers. Furrowing his brow, he sets his popcorn down and moves to climb the stairs. He places his ear up to the door, hearing odd noises, "I'm coming in. Please don't be naked." He notices his sister shaking violently, in the midst of an attack. "Shit." He hisses to himself, walking closer. Cam sees a man on the floor, still alive, but going downhill fast. He doesn't know him. He doesn't know what's going on. He knows Charlie just has to ride it out, so he adjusts her on the bed so that she's safely able to. Kneeling, he feels the man's pulse. Weak. He tells the room's AI to ring paramedics to their current location, telling them what is needed, feeling like a failure.

Duncan looks up to the man hovering over him, his hand pushing against his heck, fingers on either side of the pen. It's a very nice pen. One Charlie had received upon her completion of University. "Help me, please. Help."

"I'm trying. Who are you?" Cam realizes he has to fashion something to both hold the pen in place and possibly stop the bleeding. "I can't apply pressure. It will keep blood from going to the brain." He bites his lip, just thinking out loud as he glances around the room for something, anything.

Without thinking, the man on the floor replies with his name, watching as the man above him stops, "What's wrong?"

The younger man stops, just staring down to this now known individual. This is not the first time Mitch Duncan attacked his sister. He's only just heard his parents and Serena talking about it. He never knew what he looked like. Now, the man's life is in his hands. Cam gets up, moving to his sister's drawers in her dressing table, looking for anything to use. Socks and tights. He didn't know if it would make a difference. Mitch Duncan is unconscious at this point, but he honestly doesn't care. He jogs down the stairs once he hears the doorbell, letting the paramedics in. "Upstairs. Second door on the right."


	10. Chapter 10

Serena begins following the first stretcher containing a patient with a pen jutting out the side of his neck. She sighs, taking the chart from the paramedics as she accepts the patient, "Male, twenty-eight. He needs an X-Ray before I can do anything. I also need a CBC with differential and tox screen. Prep him for theater, I'll be there once I analyze the second coming in."

Donna Jackson waits at the elevator for the second, less critical patient, noticing the consultant walking back toward her, "You can go ahead with that one, Ms. Campbell. I can take this."

"We're fine. He needs things completed before I can do anything for him, if he doesn't go before then." The silver haired consultant folds her arms over her chest as she waits there, "I was supposed to leave here nearly four hours ago. Ric Griffin will probably get in while I'm in surgery...I sent Zav home because I thought I was going home...I was wrong."

The younger woman stares for a moment before speaking, "I don't think I've ever heard you say those words." She smirks, knowing she amused her superior.

The elevator doors open, causing Serena's eyes to widen when the paramedics push her near-stepdaughter through, "What the hell happened?" She notices the bright blue marks around the young woman's neck and the bloody nose, slightly swollen cheek. Blood dripped over her night shirt.

"She needs a head CT as soon as possible." Cameron makes eye contact with his former superior, the look telling her there's more to the story. "I messed up." His tone quiet, ashamed.

"He worries too much." Charlie lifts her hand, touching Serena's cheek with her palm when the woman stands at the side of the gurney, her voice slurs a bit. "Mum's girl..." Her eyes blink heavily, leaning her head to the side and offering a gentle smile.

A worried expression flashes across Serena's face, before giving a reassuring smile, "You've got a bloody nose, love." She places her hand over the girl's. "I have something to tend to, but Donna is going to look after you and get you an MRI instead of a CT. We'll lessen the radiation as much as we can." She knows the young woman has already had a few in the couple weeks of being a patient. "Cameron, you all came with the biro patient?"

Cameron nods a little, nervous about his sister, "Found him upstairs like that. I don't know what happened, but she said she doesn't remember anything...which is incredibly convenient."

"This gets better and better." Serena mumbles, "Donna, let Darwin know that they may be getting another patient shortly, depending on how the test look and do not inform Ms. Wolfe until she leaves theater." She notices the nurse nod before giving the young patient's hand a squeeze. "Everything is going to be okay, Charlie."

"Don't leave me." Charlotte holds onto the older woman's hand as she tries to walk away, her expression scared.

The silver haired surgeon turns around, moving closer again, "Charlotte, I'm only going to theater and I'll be back when I'm finished. Your mother may return before I do...and you have Cameron here."

"Who?"

"Oh, come on, not again." Cameron rolls his eyes, folding his arms over his chest as he stands near the foot of the bed.

"Told you...worries too much." She blinks slowly, the corner of her mouth turning up, "Tired."

Serena furrows her brow slightly, "Put a rush on that MRI, Donna." She flashes a closed mouth smile to her partner's daughter again before moving away, hearing her called after. She wants to stay with the young woman, of course. However, she has other patients. She notices the nurse return to the center station, "Also, Donna, phone Keller to see if they can spare anyone. At least until Ric gets in."

"No problem, Ms. Campbell." Donna nods to her, lifting the phone. She watches Ms. Wolfe's children, attempting to envision her as a mother when they were small. Noticing their relationship has strengthened tenfold since Charlie Wolfe was here previously in AAU ITU.

Cameron paces walking next to the bed, "They should let me put a tampon in your nose, at least."

"Tampons don't go in the nose." Charlie slurs, chuckling ever so softly to herself after. She knew what he was talking about, but the idea was still amusing to her.

He scowls, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "I should have been there. I should have checked on you when you were sleeping so long...Mum's going to kill me." Cam bounces his knee a bit, "You really don't remember how that man got into your room?"

"What man?" She looks toward him honestly, not remembering anything from the entire day. Few days even.

Cameron clears his throat, "I should have woken you up for your medicine...I didn't even do that. I'm...I'm the worst babysitter." He shakes his head, "And you're talking like you're pissed and...he hurt you. I was there and I let someone hurt you."

"Stop." Charlotte watches him.

"I can't stop, Char. I don't know how that guy got in your room while you were asleep. No one came in the back door, or the front. I'd have seen them. So, he came in through one of the windows...and I didn't...hear him. I didn't know. He could have killed you. I see the marks." He meets her eye as she just looks up at him, "Whoever that guy was tried to strangle you."

She sighs a little, knowing her brother wasn't going to stop, "I live."

Cameron offers her a slight smile, reaching over to hold his sister's hand. "I know."

Donna returns to the consultant's children, "Okay, I'm going to take you down for an MRI. Cam, it may take a while. If you want to grab a coffee or something. I'm sure your Mum wouldn't mind if you'd like to wait in her office instead of out here. May be a bit quieter."

"I'm...I left my mobile at my Mum's." He stands, glancing to Donna as she readies the young woman for transport. "You'll find me if they take her directly to Darwin? She isn't usually this disoriented after she has a seizure. At least, she hasn't been. This one lasted longer too."

"We'll have some answers in a bit." The nurse nods to him, glancing down to the young patient, who is now asleep. "You know how this works, Cam." Donna starts to move the young woman, hoping something would finally turn out well for this family.


	11. Chapter 11

Cameron sits on his mother's side of the conjoined desks, using her computer to peruse the internet. He searches for anything in regards to his sister's condition. Even reading other patient experiences. He's a little more relaxed, able to summarize what his sister may be going through. At least it's something. He lifts his head when he hears the door open. "Mum, how did surgery go?"

"Little girl. It will be touch and go. Internal injuries were worse than what I initially thought. Where's Charlotte?" Bernie furrows her brow, slowly closing the door behind her, "And what are you doing at my computer?" She tilts her head to the side for him to move, which he kindly obliges. When he doesn't immediately answer, she sighs, "Where's your sister, Cameron?"

The young man sits awkwardly in one of the chairs under the windows, thinking how he could possibly tell her, "I don't want you to get angry."

"That's never a good way to start a conversation."

Cam informs his mother of everything leading up to that point of his sister being taken to the MRI. "Which is why I came in here to...maybe find some reason about why she would be like this. I did, it's common, but this seizure...was different from her other ones. At least the ones I've seen." He shrugs, "She's just slurring a lot. Bit out of it. Don't let it worry you."

"You're my children. I'm always going to worry about you. However, I'm far more knowledgeable about this than you give me credit for." Bernie shakes her head slowly, "Where is she now?"

"Still getting her MRI, I'd imagine...taking forever though. Donna Jackson went with her."

"I'm going to go look for them. Call or message your father. If Serena gets back-"

"She already knows." Cameron nods, watching his obviously exhausted mother jogs from the room. He worries about her as well most days. Worried she'll run herself into the ground, but he knows her partner would never allow her to do that.

Bernie uses the stairway to move between the floors to the imaging department. Quicker than what an elevator could do. She notices Donna using a bag valve mask. "What happened?" Luckily, her daughter's hair was quick to notice and very rarely mistakeable.

"Everything's fine, she was just having a super rough time. MRI went well." Donna offers the patient a quick, reassuring smile, "Didn't want to move her until we got her stable. Wouldn't want anything to happen while on the lift. She's holding her own a bit better now."

The consult takes note of her daughter's bloody nose and the contusions to her face and neck. "Did you miss me that much on my first day back?" She notices the girl's tired smirk. "Let's get her some ice for that cheek and a tampon for her nose when we return to AAU. I can handle that much." They begin moving toward the elevator. Bernie glances to her department nurse, "Thank you for escorting her down yourself."

"Charlie and I had some catching up to do." Nurse Jackson nods, "Which, she's a terrible chin wag. Fell right asleep." She notices the younger woman trying to push the bag valve mask from her face weakly. "Wait until we get to AAU and get you a proper mask with some oxygen. Okay? I'd feel a bit better and I'm certain your Mum would as well."

Charlie hums a little, trying to move it again. Finally being allowed by the nurse, "Not Cam's fault." Her languid words drip from her tongue as she makes eye contact with her mother, "He will try to take blame."

Bernie furrows her brow, having been told by her son only bits and pieces, how everything was set up when arrived upon the scene. "We'll talk about it later."

"You look tired."

"So do you." The blonde pushes the bag valve mask back onto her daughter's face, staying next to her as they move to get her back up to AAU. Bernie notices her partner follow after her from the office. "Where were you?" She notices the woman give her a look. "Theater?"

"Yes, of course theater...and I need to speak with you." Serena follows after her, "It's urgent."

Quick glance to Donna, who gives a nod, and Bernie steps off to the side with her partner. "Charlie stopped breathing after her MRI. That's what was keeping them." She explains, noticing the look in her other half's eyes, "What happened?"

"Police are on their way. Mitchel Duncan is dead." She explains quietly, in a hushed voice. "Lost too much blood at the scene and coded on the way to theater. Cameron said he informed you about what happened." When Serena folds her arms over her chest, glancing around, "There's just so many loose ends that only Charlotte could answer."

"I'll contact DS Morgan." She pauses, something finally dawning on her, "Megan Morgan...DS Morgan mentioned her to me once. That's his daughter that I just... Bloody hell." Bernie begins to walk away from the woman, towards her office. "And it's her birthday. I can only imagine that's why they were out so late. Birthday dinner. He's at Saint James."

"I'll call for him, Bern, you stay with Charlotte." Serena nods, placing a hand on her partner's arm, stopping her in her tracks. "I'm just as shocked as you are, but...we'll take care of things together."

"Always together." Bernie leans over, giving her partner a quick peck before backing away from her, "Got my kiss." She raises an eyebrow, giving a triumphant smirk before turning, returning to her daughter's bedside. She lifts her head after taking the young woman's hand, seeing her son walking toward her. "Police are on the way."

"Thought they would be." Cameron nods quickly, "They'll want to take pictures of her-" He trails off, glancing down toward his sister. Asleep again, oxygen mask over her face. "This is all my fault. I should have been more attentive. I should have checked on her more frequently. I could have just watched that movie with her instead."

"MRI hasn't come in yet, obviously, but...I'm sure this was just a grand mal, which is probably what you read on the web. Her reactions are common of the larger seizures and since they're mostly fueled by her anxiety, I'd say she was pretty anxious throughout this whole ordeal, wouldn't you?" Bernie cautiously reaches a hand out to gently touch her son's as it rests against Charlie's bed rail, "If it wasn't you home, it would have been Serena or myself...and I don't know if I'd have been as benevolent as you were to try to save Mitch Duncan's life."

"I don't know if I should have." Cam moves away a little, "Dad's on his way...I'm...I need some fresh air." He walks away from his family, making his way to the elevator, aggressively tapping the button. He wants to cry. He doesn't know what else to do. "I could have...eliminated the problem when I had the chance." Cam whispers to himself, needing to work it out. He turns away from the lift once it takes too long, using the stairs to go to the roof, screaming into the air once he pushes through the door.


	12. Chapter 12

"Well, this is a bit rough." Marcus absently scratches his nails against his stubble in thought, "I don't even understand how she would be able to have enough strength to stab a biro that hard into that man's neck. Especially right before she fell into a grand mal seizure." He meets his ex-wife's eyes before noticing she was flexing her smoothe bicep, "Yes, I understand. One doesn't need to have visible muscles to be strong, I know that better than anyone."

Bernie smirks a little, "I think she's only going to stay in here overnight. If she has another moment of dyspnea, it will be longer. I don't see that happening though. Hopefully." She gently strokes her daughter's hair, "And the pen she used was the one you gave her for her graduation, that old fashioned one."

"Blood is not the proper type of ink for that." He hears Bernie hum a chuckle to herself, "She's going to hate the idea though...that man dying by her hand. Hopefully it doesn't go to trial...stays out of the papers."

"I feel like I should be angry, but I'm not exactly sure who I should be angry with." She shakes her head slowly, "There's Charlie, who used a very expensive biro to save her own life...so she's kind of off the table. There's Cam, who was supposed to be tending to his sister, but let her sleep through a dosage of her medication and was unable to hear someone enter our house while he was watching a film. Then there's Mitch Duncan, who broke into my house and attempted to kill my daughter. I'm leaning towards that last one."

Marcus nods slowly, "I believe Cameron was worried you would be disappointed in him." His eyes focus on his daughter again, noticing his ex-wife's partner walking nearer to them. "What's the news?"

"It's what we thought. No extra damage done. We'll keep her overnight for observation and release her tomorrow. We just need to be prepared better if there's a next time." Serena explains, "All of us."

Bernie shakes her head, watching the other two, "That's the problem though. If she stops breathing like she did outside of imaging-"

"Bernie, we'll make it work." Marcus meets her eyes, "Someone will be with her at all times. We can coordinate our schedules...and I'm positive Cameron wants to make up for what happened so we have him until he starts his new position." He glances to Serena, "Do you mind if I include you in that as well?"

Serena catches herself smirking, "Of course not. We had a lovely time the other day...even if I'm just always 'Mum's Girl' to her." Her eyes travel to the young woman in the bed, "I'm

even starting to grow fond of the name."

"It's only until we figure out how these things are going to go." Bernie explains, biting the corner of her mouth, "She's going to hate this."

"Maybe not, the company I hired to install a chair lift on the stairs is coming in a few days, which will make things easier for all of us. I wouldn't mind learning more about Charlie. She seems like a very bright, interesting young woman...who has more to her life than I think she's ever told us before." The silver haired woman shrugs, "I know she's been...secretive with the two of you the past few years, well...now is your chance. Learn about her."

Marcus nods a little, "I agree." He is touched by the woman making the required changes to her home to make it easier for his daughter. Serena Campbell was a woman he greatly respected, and even admired. Even before she and his ex-wife were an official couple. He can't help but smile gently.

"Ditto." Bernie picks her head up, meeting her partner's eyes. She clears her throat, feeling like she needs to change the subject, "Did you call Saint James about DS Morgan?"

"I did." Serena's face turns somber, "Died not long after he arrived to hospital, unfortunately. I have some staffers attempting to find a next of kin, but...no such luck yet."

"Poor girl." She shakes her head slowly, "I...I couldn't even imagine...on her birthday, no less."

"Dead?" Charlie asks from beneath them, having pulled her mask to the side as they were speaking with one another. "Morgan is dead?"

Serena tilts her head to the side, "I'm afraid so, Charlie."

"He ended up being nice. Not just Silver." The younger woman notices her father standing there, "Hi, Daddy." Charlie notices the man smile toward her. Her words slow, holding her mother's hand with her fingers threaded between hers, like she does. "You should all go home. Mum...no staying the night." She feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, but isn't sure exactly why.

"You need your rest." Marcus explains, "Don't worry about who stays and who doesn't."

"Where is Cam?" Charlie asks, noticing with the group of adults appear as if they don't know, her relaxed smile fades ever so slightly. "I want to be alone, please. I'm just going to sleep anyway." Tears crest her eyes, but she doesn't display any sense of being upset. "I'll be home tomorrow...come hell or high water."

Serena nods a little toward her, "Come along, you two. Let's get on home. Bernie, we have a shift tomorrow." She motions the two away, glad when they follow her. "Blimey, I'm exhausted."

Marcus nods, "Same. I have a conference in London the next few days, but I can cancel-"

"Oh, don't do that." Bernie glances to him, "She really should be home tomorrow night, if all things go well...and I believe they should. Come over when you return, if you'd like." She realizes she just invited her ex-husband over to the house she currently shares with her partner. He may have tended to their daughter the other night, but it's still a bizarre idea for her.

He lifts his head as his son returns to them on AAU. "I was just about to come looking for you." Marcus smiles a little toward the young man, "Need a lift?"

"I don't live too far...I can walk." Cameron glances between them all, shaking his head when each of the older adults begins to protest. "I just really need to clear my head or whatever...I'll be fine." He gives a cordial nod to them before turning away, leaving.

Marcus folds his arms over his chest, "I'll try to convince him. Night, ladies." He turns, following not terribly far behind his son.

Ric steps through the double doors, briefcase in hand. Seeing his co-workers standing in front of him, "Never thought I'd have such an early morning welcome from the two of you." He smirks, keeping his head low as he nears them, "You're usually gone by now."

"We've had an...eventful past few hours." Serena explains, watching as her partner escapes to the office. She sighs a little, "We are leaving Charlie in your care..." She gives a brief overview of the night, showing him the young woman's location in the AAU, "If anything happens, please...please, call one of us. I reckon a bit better if you call me, but that's entirely up to you."

He raises an eyebrow, "So...eventful."

"Yes." She sighs, following where her partner had retreated a few moments earlier. Serena meets Bernie's eyes, letting her know she had told him, just with a look.

"Keep me briefed on Megan Morgan, girl in ITU...She'll be heading to Otter soon enough." Bernie mumbles slightly, already wearing her jacket, holding her partner's up to help her put it on. "I'd just like to be in the know, please...if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course." Ric nods somberly, "I've got it all under control."

"You always do." Serena winks to him, offering a gentle smirk as she takes Bernie's hand. They make their way toward the elevator, "Everything okay?" When she doesn't hear or notice the other woman answer, she knows they aren't. "They will be, Bern."

"You don't know that. No one knows that." Bernie swallows, staring straight ahead. "Thank you, though."

"For?"

"Everything." She turns suddenly, leaning in to kiss her partner tenderly. Unaware of the door opening until Serena pushes her back ever so slightly. Bernie blushes, finally pulling the other woman along toward their vehicle. Their bed is the exact thing she needs at the moment, wrapped in one another's arms.


	13. Chapter 13

Serena attempts to catch her breath, lying nude in the bed they share. Her face flush with a grin, "What has gotten into you tonight, Berenice? We were...exhausted and you want to do all of this." She turns to her side to face her also naked partner, reaching over to run a hand through the other woman's hair.

"Want to let off a little steam...this is always the best way." Bernie raises her eyebrows, leaning in to capture the other woman's lips softly, "Also kickboxing, but...I'd rather do this since we have the house to ourselves for a change." A smirk plays at the corner of her lips, "You can get rather loud."

The silver haired woman blushes, "Hey."

"It's true. That little whimpering thing you do..." She rolls onto her back, "You do it each time we kiss and...it's ten times worse when we-"

"Have sex?" Serena finishes the statement, nodding a little with her, "Habit, I suppose. I don't even realize when I do it."

"I love it when you do that." Bernie grins, turning again to lean into her partner, needing to be close to her. She really was exhausted. Bernie feels when Serena begins to stroke her hair, knowing it wasn't about to be very long before she would fall asleep, "I love you." She mumbles wistfully.

"I love you too." She yawns, reaching over to her mobile when she hears it buzz, amused that Bernie was already starting to breath heavily, asleep. The blonde doesn't snore, unless she's drunk. Then all bets are off. Serena lifts her mobile from the side table next to her, sighing when she sees the young girl her partner had operated on had coded and passed away. Biting her lip, Serena sends a message back to Ric. _She's asleep. Will tell her when she wakes._

Ric nods, even surprised even Serena was still awake. He takes a deep breath, leaning against the desk in the Consultants' office, lifting his head when he hears a soft rap at the door, "Yes?"

The nurse pokes his head in, "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Griffin. Wolfe in bed four is complaining of headache. She doesn't seem too pushy about it, but I thought I'd come ask you if she can have something." He bites the corner of his mouth. "She actually told me not to bother you."

The older man raises an eyebrow, nodding a little, "Leave her to me." He slips his mobile on in the drawer of the desk, making his way to the bed in question, seeing his friend's daughter occupying the space. "Ms. Wolfe...though you are positively delightful, I was hoping never to see your face around here again. At least, not as a patient."

"To be honest, me either." Charlie's speech was slightly quicker than before. Not yet fully fine, but it was something. She offers him a slight smirk, "How are you?"

"I'd be better if you weren't here." Ric says again, taking the penlight from the breast pocket of his scrub top. "I'm going to take a look in your eyes. I know you're still getting over some things, but I just want to make sure there's no bleed or anything that I should worry about before I give you something for the headache."

She sighs heavily, "I told him not to tell you."

"Now you're just being irrational. You're in a hospital. We have plenty of drugs to go around." He teases, turning on the penlight before putting it to her eyes, "This is probably going to make the headache worse, just bare with me for a moment." Ric nods quickly, doing as he said he would. He notices the tears beginning to form, but takes note that she doesn't acknowledge the actual pain. She's past that now. "Very good, Ms. Wolfe."

Charlie bites her lip a little, holding her reaction to pain back. "I really don't need anything."

"I know, but I'll give it to you anyway." He folds his arms as he peers down toward her, "I wouldn't want your mother on my case...or worse, Serena." He offers a quick grin when he hears her giggle softy, motioning to the nurse that had spoken to him before, "Let's give her a bit more than her usual dosage. Twenty-five milligrams more of Topiramate." Watching as the young man walks off, he continues, "As long as we only use larger dosages when needed, there shouldn't be much risk to your other issues."

"If you say so." She shields her eyes from the overhead light with her hand, "Do you have a pair of sunnies? Mum has mine, I think...and they usually work well in an environment like this."

"I'll see what I can do, but you may be asleep for a bit once the medication gets into your system." Ric explains.

"I'd really rather not have anything. I really don't mind staying awake for a bit...people watching." Charlie leans her head against her pillow more, "Mum and her girl went home?" She notices him nod, "Good...they were exhausted." Watching him a moment longer, she continues, "You are too."

He groans playfully, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly, "I always look this way?"

"Tired with a youthful spark and handsome smile?" Charlie smirks ever so slightly, "Sorry...I'm just...I feel alone and I don't like being alone. Flirting and taking someone home from the pub is a habit." She sighs, shaking her head a little, "And I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"Well, I wouldn't advise it." Ric raises an eyebrow, "but you seem to be an intelligent, attractive young woman who is more than capable of making her own decisions."

She hums a little, amused, "Tell my brother that." Pausing, the young woman continues after a moment, "Do you know what happened that landed me in here? Like...did Cam just...not know what to do with one of my seizures?" The look on Charlie's face made him realize that she was being completely honest.

"Is that what you believe?"

"I don't know." Charlie swallows, attempting to think, "I remember being in my own, personal room on Darwin...and they were releasing me...and Cam was there. Now I sound sloshed." She bites her lip a little, "I don't feel sloshed though...foggy, but not sloshed."

"That's normal." Ric tilts his head down, "Probably feels a bit odd, I'd reckon."

"Doesn't mean I need to like it...or get used to it." She moans a little, placing her hand over her eyes. "I just need a pair of sunglasses, please."

The man watches her a moment before walking away, obtaining his own sunglasses. He didn't usually dare wear them into the building, but he'd carry them in his jacket pocket, using them when he drives. Ric carries them back to his patient, watching the nurse offer her the pill with some water. "You're allowed to have issues, Ms. Wolfe. You're allowed to feel things and seek treatment for them. Not doing so may just make things worse." When the young woman peers up toward him, he offers her his sunglasses, "If you don't want to listen to your parents or Serena, listen to me."

"What makes you think I'll listen to you if I don't listen to them?" Charlie gratefully takes the glasses from him, sliding them onto her own face and smiling a little. "And who says I don't already listen to them?"

"Well, I've worked closely with your mother in the past, and I've become accustomed to her ways." Ric nods, "And in my experience with you, I've noticed that you're a great deal like her. I know she puts her own needs behind her for the needs of others."

The young woman chuckles a little, almost bitterly, "Not always. She wasn't always that way...not for us at least." Charlotte clears her throat after a moment, "I'm glad she is the way that she is now, but it scares me a little that I might be the way she was then...even by a little."

"Well, from me, it's a compliment."

Charlie nods, "Thank you." She leans back in the bed again, "These are proper cool specks too. Not bad, old man." She watches as the surgeon walks away, amused amused with her, but angry that these are the memories that have decided to rear their ugly head now. They've moved past this. Charlie closes her eyes, still wearing the glasses, trying to focus on anything except her childhood or her current predicament.


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm going to stay in therapy with you today." Serena pushes her near step-daughter along the hallway in a hospital wheelchair, "I get an hour for lunch...well, I can take as long as I want, but I limit myself to an hour. I can be with you during that, I reckon."

Charlie smirks to herself, still wearing the simple, classic sunglasses given to her by Ric Griffin through the night. "How do I know you don't just want to watch me fall?"

"Because I believe that if your mother or myself were there, and I guess your father as well, that you may work a bit harder...push yourself even." The silver haired woman explains, "I know that's what you really want."

The younger woman thinks for a moment before replying, "My speech is nearly to where it was before. I'm not expecting any more miracles today."

"I'm not asking for for you to perform miracles. Unless trying your best is a miracle."

Charlie found herself offering her throaty chuckle, "You know, I'm really not going to miss this place." She was thankful her mother had brought in a change of clothes for her, matching aubergine sweatpants and matching zippered sweatshirt, an obscure band t-shirt underneath. "I can't wait to be back at your place, in my own bed." She licks her lips, "I'm remembering a bit more from last night...well...I remember playing the guitar and going to sleep. Then nothing."

"It's a start." Serena sighs ever so calmly. She isn't sure, however, if remembering everything from the night previous would be such a good idea for the young woman. Would she handle it well or would it cause her tremendous anxiety? What of Cameron for that matter? Hopefully her partner would be able to get through to her son. "Memories are bizarre that way."

"Or when the memories are around doing the things I don't want to remember." The young woman clears her throat, "or people I'd rather forget. It's a two way street." Charlie bites her lower lip, "I'm sure you feel the same way, even if you don't wish to admit it. If you could forget some things...or some people, you would."

"I honestly don't know...maybe some boyfriends that were just a waste of time...but then I don't know if I'd have had the courage to live my life the way I am now, with your mother, if they hadn't happened." The older woman raises an eyebrow, "And, by proxy, I'd have possibly never gotten the chance to get to know you. I'd be disappointed about that as well."

Charlie raises an eyebrow, "Me? Why me?"

"To be quite honest, I find you fascinating. Like an onion or a head of cabbage-"

"Smelly when it's old?"

"No." Serena chuckles a little to herself, "No, I mean the layers. There are so many layers to you. Like your mother had many layers that she hid instead of living in a way that made her happy, you were the opposite it seems. You were very...bold in the way you lived your life." She swipes her card in a doorway to open it, "Before you moved in, your Mum had taken me to your apartment so that I could...see what you were comfortable with. You were an amazing artist in many forms, Charlie. Painting, poetry, song...and even the way you gave to others."

"Hopefully Cam is fitting in well there." Charlie runs a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear, "I don't remember what it looks like anymore. My own oasis...gone..."

"It will come back, just like everything else." Serena pushes the door open to the physiotherapy room with her backside, knowing Bernie would rather be here, but the girl may not push herself as much with her mother nearby.

"Ms. Campbell, what a surprise." The young, tanned-skin therapist grins toward her, "Will you be staying with us today?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." She removes her mobile from her pocket, sending a quick text message to her partner, _Whipping our girl into shape. Will be back when finished._

Sheilagh Chiltern watches as the consultant in front of her grins, reading from her mobile, "Nice message, I take it?" She offers her own smirk, not having much experience with the woman just yet, but hearing some stories from her grandson and his partner about her. "You must be Ms. Wolfe, correct?"

Bernie tilts her head to the side, raising an eyebrow, "I am, yes." She slides her mobile back to her scrub pocket, removing the chart from the end of the older woman's bed, "Mrs. Chiltern...are you Lofty's mother?"

"Grandmother and I like you more and more with each word from your mouth."

The blonde finds herself blushing ever so slightly, returning the chart to its holder, "Um...well, thank you."

"Care for a seat, girl? I'm sure you're tired." Sheilagh motions to the empty chair beside her bed, "I'm in this place so often, I'm sure they're going to begin charging me rent soon."

Bernie slowly sinks into the chair, watching the woman, "How do you know me?"

"The great Berenice Wolfe? Piglet and Dom speak highly of you." She nods slowly, "How is your daughter? I heard she was on the mend. I know that isn't easy as a parent...to see your children suffering. My boys seemed quite worried." The woman pauses, "What is her name?"

"Charlotte and...it's one day at a time. Luckily, she has many people who are prepared to have her back." The blonde holds up her mobile for a moment to motion to it, "My partner is with her at the moment in physio. Though, I'm not completely sure if there's a reason to her madness, or just because she's being nosey...probably a bit of both."

"He's a very lucky bloke." Sheilagh nods, leaning her head back against the pillow, glancing to her elevated, swollen foot, knowing her time will come to be tended to.

"She...my partner is Serena Campbell...I'm sure you've-"

"Oh, that's right. The boys did tell me all that. How they were happy you'd returned because now Serena wouldn't be such a-" She stops herself, slowly moving her eyes back toward the woman, "worried whatsit."

Bernie hums with a nod, "I'm an incredibly lucky woman to have her share her." She inhales deeply at the thought, "And she's been amazing with both of my children...even getting along with the ex, which I didn't think was going to be possible. I love her deeply and truly."

"Sounds like she's lucky to have you as well." Sheilagh gives her a closed mouth smile, "Two of you seem perfect for one another. Both determined, both loving. Though I doubt either of you are willing to admit to such things...probably both hard headed." When the blonde gives her a look, she continues, "I'm a rather excellent judge of character, Ms. Wolfe."

"Please, call me Bernie." She leans forward a bit in the chair, "And I bet you're all of those things as well."

"It's why Serena and I get on so well." The snowy haired woman comments, "Take no bullshit kind of gals. You're the same way. I can tell."

"I suppose I am. Well, you'd have to ask Serena, really."

"And humble. You are a delight, Ms. Wolfe." Sheilagh hisses as she attempts to move her foot, "Blimey. I didn't think this would hurt as much as it does."

"You ruptured your Achilles tendon, Mrs. Chiltern. It's going to hurt. I'll order some pain management for you in the meantime. We're just waiting for one of our theaters to open up to take you in." Bernie makes a disappointed face as she stands from her seat, "We can put a cast on you, but I can tell you're a mover. So, it would be less healing time for you if we perform surgery. Simple procedure."

"Will you be doing it?" Seeing the blonde nod, Sheilagh continues, "Alright then. Is my boys, and Serena Campbell, trust you...then so do I."


	15. Chapter 15

"You're doing amazing, Charlie." Serena beams toward the young woman, watching as she pushes herself to take step after step, holding onto the balance bars on either side of her. They had been here for twenty minutes by now. The physiotherapy only lasts thirty minutes.

Charlie's hands tremble as she grips the balance bars, tears in her eyes, "I'd like to stop, please." She glances to her therapists, spent. Having made massive strides today, quite literally.

"You're...you still have ten minutes. You can do it." The silver haired surgeon and former Holby CEO stands in front of the girl, shaking her head ever so slightly. "Come on. Couple more times-"

"I said I'm finished." She mumbles, noticing the woman start to protest. "You have no idea. You have absolutely no fucking idea what this is like." Charlie bares her teeth ever so slightly out of frustration, tears in the lower lids of her eyes. She takes a few more steps to the ends of the bars, quickly realizing that Serena was making her angry just to push her. Luckily, her therapist takes her seriously. He gently pushes her chair up behind her, helping her lower herself into it, excitedly telling her what a good job she's done. Charlotte holds her hand out in front of her, ignoring the room around her as she looks to her heavily shaking hands. That's the hardest part. "Get me out of here." Reaching her hand into the pocket of her jacket, she pushes the sunglasses given to her by Ric Griffin before folding her arms over her chest.

Serena notices the room fall quiet, crouching in front of the young woman for a moment, "You did an amazing job, Charlotte." She reaches toward her, to place a gentle knuckle under her chin to raise her head, only to have the young woman turn away from her. Her smile fading quickly, "I mean it." She moves behind the chair, pushing her toward the door only to have it open for her, "Abigail."

"Have to say, that was spectacular to watch, Ms. Wolfe." Abigail Tate holds the door open for her friend and the young woman, "You're coming along quite nicely." She shrugs a little when she notices the look her friend is giving her, still focusing on the younger woman, "I mean it. I watched you from the window."

"I don't like to be spied on." Charlie says quietly.

"I don't either, but I didn't want to disturb you. I was coming to check in on physio anyway. Watch them at work. It just happened to be working with you." She walks along the hall with the pair.

"You keep popping up. I'm starting to get the feeling that you've taken a special interest in me. Why is that?"

Abigail glances to her friend, then back the young woman who has yet to look to her. "You're an interesting case to me, yes. Serena and your Mum are friends of mine and I run things around here. I want to make certain you're receiving the best care possible."

Serena sighs a little, "Charlotte doesn't believe in her abilities."

"I believe in them just fine. I'm just tired of people telling me that I'm doing great when I could bloody walk a month ago." Charlie licks her lips, "I want to be able to go out for a drink and a fag instead of being here...working on walking, something my Mum said I mastered when I was eight months old. You don't know how that feels. Just wanting to get back to life...I want to write and paint again...and do everything I did before. I want to teach my kids and...thank Megan Morgan for all her pictures she's drawn me. I want to play the guitar like I used to."

 _Megan Morgan._ The name rings in Serena's head, knowing it's the little girl Bernie lost the day prior. She doesn't know if she even wants to tell Charlie just yet, or ever really. She's glad the young woman isn't able to see her face, "You play the guitar perfectly. You were playing a few days ago. Mum and Cam danced in the lounge. Do you remember?" Serena doesn't receive an answer, "And you sing like a lark."

Abigail smirks slightly, "I didn't know there was music in the Wolfe family."

"There isn't. Not anymore." Charlie shakes her head, "Can't write music when I can hardly hold a pen."

"That isn't true. I can write for you." The CEO offers, "Piano throughout my childhood. I know a thing or two. Never dared the guitar...hurt my fingers too much."

"Are you trying to be my friend as well?" The younger woman raises an eyebrow, smirking amusingly toward the woman. "Never been friends with a stalker." She tilts her head to the side, "That's actually a lie, well...he was a former...bedmate. Didn't understand the concept of a one night stand." Charlie stops suddenly, her eyes widening, "Mum's girl..."

Serena swallows, knowing the memories are probably catching up, "Yes?"

"He..." Charlie brings one of her hands to her bruised neck, inhaling deeply, "He attacked me...Cam...where's Cam?" Panic flashes across her face, "He could hurt Cam. Where is he?"

"Relax, Charlie." The silver haired woman crouches in front of the wheelchair before she pushes the button to the elevator, "Everything is fine. Cameron is safe. He brought you in last night. Not a scratch on him. You were the only one hurt...and now you're getting better. Step by step. Isn't that right?" She notices the young woman nod almost absently, continuing, "We're going back to AAU...and you'll wait there with us until Mum and I get off our shifts."

Abigail furrows her brow slightly, "Can't Cameron just take her home? Instead of just making her stay in a ward where she could get sick. Hospitals always make one sick, don't they?"

"I want Mum." Charlie mumbles, the silver haired woman's presence keeping her calm somehow, "I want to go back."

"We are on our way. Never fear." Serena brings a hand up, pushing hair from Charlie's face and tucking it behind the young woman's ear. She's surprised when Charlie suddenly leans forward, hugging onto her. "Okay...everything is okay." The young woman had never let her be this close before. Serena gently rubs the young woman's back.

Raising her eyebrow, Abigail nods a little, locking the wheelchair so the young woman doesn't fall out. She steps away a little, retrieving her mobile from her pocket. Scrolling through her contacts, she touches the name of her other woman's partner, sending her a text message. _Come to fourth floor near lift. Charlie having hard time._

Bernie furrows her eyebrows, glancing to her mobile, not really understanding the message. She lets Donna know where she's off to before using the stairway. Quicker, she knows. She jogs up, only taking a few moments. She finds her pace increasing as the possibilities run through her head. Seeing the woman at the door of the fourth floor in the stairway, "What's going on?"

"Serena has it under control, but...I think it may be a good idea for you to help." Abigail leads her to the woman just holding onto the young woman as they sit on the floor at this point.

She just stops, smiling ever so slightly as the image of her partner holding her daughter hits her eye. She isn't sure she even wants to bother them really. Bernie glances to her watch, knowing it was less than ten minutes since she received the text to when she ran up. She moves around, keeping quiet so that Serena can see that she's there.

Serena opens her eyes, moist with unshed tears. She swallows, whispering, "I think she's fallen asleep."

Bernie nods, "Let's get her back to the chair and downstairs." She can tell this sudden rush of emotion has taken her partner by surprise, probably making her think of Elinor, "Are you okay?"

She nods quickly, "She doesn't know about the stabbing...or Megan Morgan."

"Why would she need to know about-"

"Her student." Serena answers quietly, helping her partner lift the young woman back up into the chair.

Bernie then puts two and two together, sighing softly, "Bloody hell." She pushes the button to the elevator once she ensures that her daughter won't actually fall out of the wheelchair. Noticing Abigail isn't there anymore, she smiles ever so slightly, shaking her head.


	16. Chapter 16

Bernie lets the nurses move her daughter back into a bed as she follows her partner to their conjoined office, "Serena...are you sure you're okay? You don't look okay."

"Oh, I'm fine." Serena offers her partner an attempted reassuring smile. "I believe I'm just tired...after last night. You were rather...eager. I wasn't expecting that. Thought we were just going home to...sleep." She shakes her head a little, "I'm not disappointed in the least, quite the opposite."

The blonde watches her partner, "I don't want Charlie's presence to be painful-"

"No, I've already told you that she's fine." She answers quickly, too quickly. Swallowing, Serena lowers herself to the chair behind her desk, "Elinor and I...we weren't as close as we could have been. Charlotte is in no way my Elinor." She stares away from her partner, toward nothing in particular.

"Correct...she isn't." Bernie sinks into one of the chairs under the windows, across from the woman, "That doesn't mean that you should feel the need to hold yourself back." She licks her lips, thinking for a moment, "If it weren't for Charlotte getting hurt, she and I...would still be on the same terms we were before. Non-speaking, distant. The way I never wanted it to be in the first place."

"I don't want to take-"

"You are a part of my family, Serena. You're my partner in life. The woman I plan to spend the rest of my days with...and can't imagine waking up next to anyone else. So...you're stuck with me...and my children...and my ex-husband, sort of." The blonde smirks a little, moving near the other woman. She holds her hand out, feeling as Serena takes it in hers. "If you're having a hard time with this, it's okay. You're allowed to."

"I didn't expect the...display of affection." Serena swallows, motioning toward the general direction of the young woman, "She trusts me...something within her tells her to trust me, no matter what. She still calls me _Mum's Girl_ , but she trusts me without question." She shakes her head, "I never thought she would...I only just realized that's how she feels."

"She's a smart cookie." Bernie smirks a little, watching her partner, "She's a different woman now. It's common, but...it's still a bit odd to me. I'll get used to it though."

"And I'll get used to being a step-mother." The silver haired young woman nods, "Wicked step-mother hopefully."

"Most wicked." Bernie leans in, capturing her girlfriend's lips. "My turn for a break...I'll get you a coffee...maybe a pastry?" Noticing a look from the woman, she nods quickly, "Thought you'd like that. I'll be back...unless you'd like to walk with me? I'm sure the unit will be okay for a few moments."

Serena shakes her head, "No, you go ahead. I'll do rounds." She smiles a little, watching the blonde leave. Serena makes her way to the nurse's station after a few moments, noticing Sheilagh Chiltern speaking with her near step-daughter, not wanting to disrupt them.

"Oh, you're a beauty, sweet girl." Sheilagh stares toward Charlotte Wolfe, noticing the dark bruises about her neck and the prominent scar to her head. When the much younger woman opens her eyes, watching her, she continues, "I'd notice those eyes anywhere. You must be Bernie and Serena's daughter."

Charlie groggily gives a closed mouth smile, turned to her side to face the woman, "I guess I am. Should I know you?"

"Not yet. Practically a stranger, but...what are strangers other than people we haven't said hello to yet." The crystal eyed woman shrugs, "You look like you've been through quite the ordeal." She watches, "Your mothers think very highly of you."

"They're mostly confused." The seafoam haired young woman raises an eyebrow, reaching into her pocket for the sunglasses given to her by Ric Griffin, finding them empty. She pushes her call button, "I hate this place...I just want to go home."

"Me too." Sheilagh nods, "You have no idea, chicky." She hums a bitter chuckle to herself, "No, anytime I go home, I find myself accident prone. Know how I did this? Slid down the last couple stairs in my own house. Ruptured tendon."

"Sounds painful." Charlie glances to a young nursing assistant who rushes over to her, "My sunnies...ask my Mum for them? Maybe... her girl?" She licks her lips absently, watching the woman about her age rush away. "I don't really know what landed me here...I think things happened, but I don't know if there's any truth to them...I don't know if I actually do want to know."

"I bet you'd be pretty close to accurate."

Serena slowly strolls closer to the bed, sunglasses in hand, "Fell off while you were sleeping upstairs." She offers them to the young woman, watching as she pushes them back onto her face with shaking hands, "Mrs. Chiltern, I hope she isn't bothering you much." Serena reaches a hand up out of motherly instinct, running it over the young woman's faded hair. She doesn't know why she does it. Not realizing it is out of character of herself until she does so. Serena pulls back quickly once she finishes a single pass through the young woman's hair, "Where did you even get these specks?"

"My fairy godfather." Charlie smirks toward her, reaching to take hold of the woman's hand only for Serena to walk away before she's able to touch her. Her smile fades, watching as her mother's girlfriend nervously folds her arms in her return to her spot at the nurse's station.

"She'll come around." Sheilagh attempts to reason, "I can see that you love her."

"Saved my life...Mum's girl..." She bites her lip, blinking slowly from behind her glasses. "I want to repay her."

"I don't think you need to, love." She notices the girl's hands and the general air about her. "I think you being here is payment enough. You being near her...letting her care for you. All payment." Sheilagh nods, "And I'm certain your Mum loves it as well."

"I'm glad things have changed." Charlotte watches the older woman in the bed next to her, knowing Sheilagh wouldn't know what she was talking about. "I've missed her." Her voice fades away slightly as she finds herself falling back asleep, thinking about having the relationship with her mother that she always wanted when she was a young girl.

Sheilagh finds herself watching the young woman sleep, knowing she's not only been through a great ordeal recently, but that her entire life has been difficult for her. The embedded in the flesh of her arms telling a story. One that intrigues Sheilagh, one that she was going to find out.


	17. Chapter 17

"You're still here." Charlie watches the showy haired woman next to her, feeling her stare. "You haven't gone into surgery yet?" Her low voice heavy from sleep, she isn't sure how long she's been asleep. "Ready to go in soon? You've changed your clothes."

"Already been, chicky." Sheilagh hums her soft amusement, "We've both been out a while." She smiles ever so slightly, "Surgery didn't take very long. Piglet has already spoken quite sternly to me...has demanded I take better care in my happenings at home."

"Doesn't make a bit of difference. Mum and her girl won't leave me alone...and now I know they definitely won't." She smirks a little, "I'm sure your...Piglet isn't going to leave you alone either." The young woman pauses, "Who is Piglet?"

"My grandson." The older woman motions with a finger near the nurse's station, "The one with the dark fuzzy hair. I love him dearly, but most times he worries too much."

"They always do." Charlie rolls to her back, noticing Serena walking toward her, "Mum's girl...time to go?"

"Bernie is finishing her last page of paperwork, which I'm rather surprised that she's actually doing to begin with. However, she's already changed out of her scrubs, so we're going to get you up." Serena nods toward the young woman, lifting her head to look to Lofty's grandmother in the other bed, "Bernie says surgery went incredibly well. How do you feel?"

"Oh, I'm a tough old girl." Sheilagh shrugs, "Ms. Wolfe is more than capable. My boys speak highly of her." She nods, motioning the surgeon closer, glad that she does as asked, "And you, Miss Bossy Britches, are allowed to love her just as if she's your own." Sheilagh makes it clear she's referring to Charlie, "Don't hold yourself back."

Serena realizes Lofty and Dom have probably told the woman of her history if Sheilagh asked them of it. She licks her lips, "It isn't what you-"

"Closing yourself off to keep your heart safe...doesn't keep your mind safe. Do you understand?" Sheilagh's crystal blue eyes meet Serena's chocolate brown ones, "I may be a crazy old bird, but I speak from experience. I know what you're going through more than you could ever imagine."

Nodding, tears seep into her eyes. Serena swallows, reaching out to take the older woman's hand, "Thank you, Sheilagh." She winks, clearing her throat to push down her emotions.

Charlie pushes herself up to a sitting position over the edge of the hospital bed, watching the women closely, but not really getting what they were saying since they were speaking in hushed tones. "Can I have a pill when I get home?" She reaches up, removing her sunglasses. She offers them to her mother's partner, "Should probably leave these for Mr. Griffin."

"Headache?" Serena turns slowly, taking the glasses from the young woman.

"Yeah, but it's fine just now. I just like to...start treating it before it gets worse. In case it gets worse." She pushes a piece of hair behind her ear. Charlie shrugs, "Don't mind me. It's fine. You two keep talking. Ms. Sheilagh is a delight." She smiles a little toward her, "My kids would love you."

"School children." Serena quickly clarifies, "Charlotte is a school teacher."

"Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to it one day...before those children are fully grown adults." Charlie smirks a little when her mother's partner gives her an amused expression, "They're only three and four now, so...maybe teenagers?"

"I am not amused." Serena pulls over a wheelchair that was resting against the wall for quick and easy access, moving it closer to the bed.

"Aye aye, Queen Victoria." The young woman grips onto her mother's girlfriend as she carefully stands from the bed. She attempts to get her bearings, a nervous expression on her face, she drops bak onto the bed, "I'm sorry...I...I think I pushed myself too much today."

"Come on now, chicky. You can do it." Sheilagh offers an encouraging smile, "Few steps, then your parents won't make you take another step for the rest of the night when you get home."

"Easier said than done." Charlie mumbles, swallowing with nervousness. She starts hugging onto Serena again as she rises from the bed, "Don't let me fall." Her voice hoarse, truly afraid, "Please." Her legs feel like jelly, weak and uneasy. She's afraid of letting go of her mother's partner.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Serena finds herself closing her eyes, just holding onto Bernie's daughter for a moment. The younger woman wasn't heavy, slimmer than Bernie, if that was even possible, but not by much. Same height. "Take your time. You've had a productive day today and I'm very impressed with you."

"Really?" The young woman sorts quickly, "Why?"

"How much you pushed yourself...I didn't think you could, but you did, and you were amazing." She finds herself growing slightly upset, not wanting to break down here or in front of these people. Not wanting even Charlotte to see this side of her just yet, if ever.

Bernie watches the pair, adjusting her lightweight jacket around herself. It causes her to smile a little, hoping this is helping her partner more than hurting her emotionally. Knowing it could only help her, whether she could see it or not.

"You smell nice." Charlie smirks, giggling a little as they just stand there holding onto one another. "You deal with gross shit every day and...you still smell nice. I didn't expect it." She pauses, "I like it though. Coffee and...lavender or lilacs? Something floral...Hibiscus?"

"I don't wear any-"

"Then it's in your skin." She nods a little, "Probably drives Mum wild."

Serena gives a quick huff of a chuckle, "It does."

"I dated this girl once, probably one of my longest relationships. She smelled like rosemary and strawberries. I couldn't pinpoint it for the longest time, but...when I figured it out, I was so...overwhelmed. I think I stayed with her for so long because she smelled so nice." Charlie nods, finally slowly moving around to lower down to the chair. "Or this bloke I dated that smelled like champagne and chocolate. That one was bloody fantastic. Great lover too."

"You should write a book." Serena helps her gently, unlocking the chair on either side before she turns them around.

"You should read it."

Bernie folds her arms, standing outside the door of their office, "Are the two of you finished? Can we leave now?"

"We were waiting for you!" Serena scowls playfully toward her girlfriend, "And here you are, just ogling us when you could have been helping, Berenice." She moves around the wheelchair, "You push. I've done enough today."

"Weird question, have either of you spoken to Cam?" Charlie relaxes back in the chair, "I know you told me not to worry and that things were okay and that...he's safe, but...I just..." She swallows, running a hand through her hair, "I just need to see him and I haven't got my mobile to get in contact."

"He said he left his mobile at our place." Bernie nods, offering her daughter her own mobile, "Just don't text Cameron Dunley from pediatrics. Made the mistake of a similar name before and he'd probably be very confused as to why he's getting a text from me."

Charlotte will not ask. Not caring really. She only wants to know where her brother is. Needing to see him in order to know everything really was okay. The events of the night prior just flashes in her mind and she's unable to string them together to make a sensible conclusion.


	18. Chapter 18

Bernie notices her son's vehicle in the front of her home. Remembering the night before that he had ridden with her daughter to the hospital in the ambulance. She's surprised, however, that he didn't attempt to retrieve it when he left the night prior. "Let me get your chair." Luckily, Serena had gotten a temporary ramp installed to make it easier for them before Charlie was brought to their home a week prior.

"Wait a minute. Can I show you something?" Charlie asks innocently, sitting in the front seat next to her, "Before you run off and...whatever. Can I?" She smirks, giving Serena a quick look to her place in the back seat. "You didn't get to see it earlier and-"

"Let your mother get your chair. We can show her when she returns." Serena reaches over, gently giving the young woman a squeeze on her upper arm.

The blonde seems slightly confused, glancing to the pair before climbing from the driver's seat. "I'll only be a moment." She jogs inside and the smell of cleaning supplies quickly hits her nose, "Cameron? Are you here?" No answer. She can hear music coming from the floor above. Glancing toward the entrance door a second, she decides to investigate. Ascending the stairs, the music grows louder. The voice sounds familiar in the music. Coming from the opposite side of Charlotte's bedroom door. She doesn't knock, not wanting to. Gingerly pushing the door open, she sees her son on the floor, scrubbing a dark spot of blood. The bed clothing stripped from the mattress, leaving it bare. Bernie bites her lower lip a moment, noticing that the music is coming from an all-in-one CD and record player next to the main dressing table. She lifts the needle off the spinning record, causing her son to jump back a little.

"I didn't hear you come in." Cameron swallows, "I didn't...want her to come home to see all this. In case she doesn't remember, I'd rather...well, it should probably stay that way." He clears his throat, sitting next to the area he was scrubbing previously, "It won't...it just doesn't want to wash out and I don't want to bleach Ms. Campbell's floor."

"Cameron." Bernie carefully sits down on the floor next to him, wrapping an arm around his upper torso. "You didn't need to do all of this." She smiles a little when the young man leans his head against her shoulder. "Your sister has been asking about you since you left last night."

"I came back here." He clears his throat, "I needed to...make sure she could be comfortable when she came home. Threw on her band's vinyl and went...cleaning crazy."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Cameron lifts his head, shaking it a little. "I'm not really sure what you mean. My sister killed someone last night. I tried to save his life. I couldn't. Now she's broken and the contusions are still dark. Does she even know they're there?" He glances to his mother, "I'd bet she doesn't."

"She'll see them soon enough." Bernie attempts to reason with him, "She doesn't know the extent of her actions. Just that he was here and attacked her. I'd appreciate it if you didn't outright tell her. That's her information to remember on her own."

"Mom, she should know that she has taken another human life. Doesn't matter just how awful that person was, she should still know." He answers quietly, "She's stronger than you give her credit for."

"It isn't about strength. It's about not wanting her to have a seizure over something that isn't even remotely important at the moment." She creases her brow slightly, "and she isn't very strong. She's been through a great deal and I'm absolutely...in awe of her, but she's also incredibly fragile. She's...fragile." Bernie tells him, turning quiet toward the end of her statement, "She needs round the clock care."

"She doesn't-"

"She stopped breathing during her MRI. Donna had it covered, but...it could happen at any time." She glances toward her daughter's bed, "If I need to sleep in bed with her every single night, I will."

Cameron swallows, listening to his mother, "I...I want to fix this."

"There's nothing to fix, Cam. I keep telling you that you had nothing to do with this, I mean it." Bernie licks her lips quickly, pushing herself up off the wooden floor, "I was supposed to be getting her chair. You should come downstairs with me. Come and see your sister. She says she has a surprise to show me." Noticing the young man raise an interested eyebrow, as she offers him a hand, helping him stand, "You should listen to me more often."

"Not really my style." He smirks, placing a hand on his mother's shoulder, walking back down the stairs with her. "I can get the chair."

"What has taken you so-" Serena begins, standing next to the vehicle when she sees Cameron behind her girlfriend, "Mr. Dunn, lovely to see you, per the usual." She quickly makes eye contact with Bernie, seeing something was...different with her, with the air of this mother and son, and she isn't quite sure what it could possibly be.

"Ditto, stepmother." Cameron hears Bernie give a quickly snorting chuckle. "Charlie Wolfe, get your arse out of that tiny auto." He teases his sister, standing next to her door, the window rolled down. "Nice tracksuit."

"Mum gave it to me...bought it from the pensioner section probably." Charlie smirks, glad her brother is safe and healthy. Her previous fears from earlier in the day subsiding. "You smell odd...were you cleaning something?"

He tilts his head to the side, amused, "Couple things. Came over to do laundry." Cam offers her a reassuring smile, "Do you want me to just carry you?"

"No, let me try."

"Let your brother help you, Charlie." Bernie folds her arms, watching over her son's shoulder.

"I can do it." Charlie shakes her head a little, glancing around, "Mum's girl-"

"Let me give it a try?" Serena lifts her head, offering the others a closed mouth smile. When Cameron steps back to stand next to his mother, she moves forward, standing in front of Charlotte. "Alright, Charlie. Are you prepared to show them what you've got?" She raises a playful eyebrow, her voice encouraging, noticing the young woman giggle to herself.

Charlotte allows the woman to help her carefully stand, holding onto her hands as she takes a few wary steps forward, not really sure of herself or the way her body moves. She focuses her eyes on that of Serena, hearing her mother give her applause from the position next to her. "I'm trying to concentrate, Mum." She grins, stopping only after a few steps. "Okay...that's enough."

Cameron smirks, pushing the chair behind his sister, "Just fall back. I have you." He gently helps her sit back in the wheelchair, proud tears sprinkle his eyes as he clears his throat.

"That was amazing, Charlie." Bernie crouches in front of her daughter, meeting her eyes, "I am so proud of you." She stands a little, hugging onto the young woman, "Never giving up, no matter how impossible it may seem." Bernie backs away a little after a moment, "Hungry?"

"Famished." Charlie nods a little, using her own arms to propel herself forward before her brother is able to push her. She's going to do as much as she possibly can without the help of anyone else. Charlie knows that she needs to get back to the independent woman that she feels she used to be.


	19. Chapter 19

"What film shall it be tonight then?" Bernie uses the television remote to move through the various menus of the streaming services. "Jane Austen period piece? Possibly an Agatha Christie mystery?" The blonde offers, scrolling about, "this one is one of those creepy crawly ones set in the eighties."

Charlotte folds her arms, studying her mother, "What are you doing?" Her voice quiet, uncertain. There is some sort of air about her mother that she isn't able to pinpoint. "Are you...nervous about something?"

"Nervous? Why would I be nervous?" An amused half smile plays at the corner of her mouth.

"You tell me." She pushes herself up to a sitting position, "You told me that you were proud of me earlier...when we came home, but I don't get that feeling. I feel like...you're so incredibly nervous about me doing anything that if you could find a bubble large enough, you'd put me in one."

Bernie stops, finally looking to her daughter, "I would if I could, yes, but...not for the reasons you think." She swallows, "I would protect you and your brother any way I possibly could. When he was in a car accident a few years back and brought into AAU...I couldn't believe it was really him at first. He had scrapes on his face and...it made my heart sink to my stomach."

"I know that things are different now, but..." Charlie shakes her head, her eyes glassing, "I just keep...flashing back to being about six and sitting in front of the television...there was an attack on a British embassy in...Kuwait, but...I think you were somewhere else at the time. I didn't know the difference. I just knew that my Mum was someplace hot, sandy, and dry...I thought it was all one place. I just...I remember sitting in front of the television with video clips playing of people being carried out on stretchers and body bags." She bites her lip, "and...I waited to hear your name...or for Cam to say they showed your name among the casualties."

The blonde begins to shake her head slowly, "I know you did and I'm sorry-"

"Every time there was something to happen there and...I would scour the internet for something...anything about you. I'd get in trouble by my teachers at school all the time because of it." She shrugs, "I'm just...really glad that you're actually okay, Mum. All these years and...I never got to tell you that. I'm glad you're okay."

Bernie leans in, wrapping an arm around her daughter and pulling her in closely. She places a kiss against the younger woman's hair, "We're moving forward now. I can't change the past...if I could, trust me when I say that I would. Things would have been different. I'm glad you're okay too, Charlotte."

Charlie inhales deeply, leaning against her mother, only speaking after a few moments pass, "Shit...we've both been through a lot, haven't we?"

The older woman chuckles a little to herself, "Yes, I think we have."

"I've...In my life, I've found that using one's past experiences to shape their future ones was a bit...silly. It's about making new experiences. Living a life as if each happening is your first one...and your last one. Both at the same time." Charlotte licks her lips, thinking allowed mostly, "I used to do a lot of drugs. Like...a lot. I had a few close calls, but...there was just one that scared me more than the others and I...started to take a more no nonsense approach."

"Cold turkey?" Bernie offers, smirking slightly when the young woman nods. "Impressive."

"Christmas...when we were all together? I knew Elinor was using. I saw myself in her, but I also knew that she was the only one that could learn that lesson for herself." The young woman holds her arm up, showing her mother the light bulb tattoo, "I tried to...tell her that if she needed help, I'd be more than willing to help her, but...I'm an _Army brat. What did I know?_ " She explains, knowing her mother would know those were the deceased young woman's words to her.

Sounds like something Elinor would say, she remembers trying to appeal to the young woman previously. Bernie nods slowly, "That was very kind of you."

"I knew you and your girl were...serious. There is a spark between the two of you that...I've only felt a couple times and I know that if it lasted more than a few months, it was a forever thing for you." Charlie runs a hand through her hair, "I thought Elinor and I...maybe we could have been sisters at some point. We were roughly the same age. Both of us living too much life for our years...but one of us had taken a different path."

Bernie finds the corners of her mouth turning up a little in a smile, "Possibly, but we'll never know." She shakes head a little, "We don't have to watch anything if you don't like. We could just talk, if you'd like." She meets her daughter's eyes, wanting to make her happy.

"Fine, but...nothing about before or Elinor...just...what we can do together in the future. Like...Dad's bullshit family holiday plans." Charlotte can hear her mother's throaty chuckle as she attempts to hold it inside, "And how maybe they aren't really a bad idea after all. Even if you don't want Dad to come with us."

"It up to you." She shrugs, "I don't think it would be so bad, actually. Your father and I...have grown from where we were before. I've apologized and he...I think he's forgiven me. At least it feels that way. While you were in surgery, we talked about it a little. About putting those feelings behind us and moving forward...for you."

The young woman remains cuddled up against her mother, "I'm glad. I don't like negativity." Her voice starting to fade, "Do you want a day at the sea or...traversing some historic landmarks?"

"The sea could be nice." Bernie absently strokes her daughter's hair, "We need to wait until we get the go-ahead from your physiotherapist. I'd strap you to my back if need be, but I'd rather you be able to tackle walking a bit better." She hears a patterned breathing from next to her, knowing the young woman has fallen asleep. She isn't ready to explain her true fears to her daughter, to tell her that she worries the young woman will stop breathing during the night. Her greatest fear, at the moment, is losing her daughter when she's only just gotten her back.


	20. Chapter 20

Charlotte carefully pushes herself up from the mattress, trying her best not to wake her sleeping mother. The loo, she had to try her best. She could do this on her own. It's getting up which is the hardest part. The young woman pulls at her bedside table in an attempt to stand. Edging more and more, finally standing. She grins to herself, feeling a bead of sweat forming at her brow. Proud only for a moment, "Come on, Wolfe. You can do this." She whispers, willing herself to move on her own. One step. Two step.

Bernie stares toward her daughter, the light lifting of the spot next to her waking her almost instantly. However, she didn't want to draw attention to the young woman's actions. Not wanting to startle her. She slides herself over to the end of the bed herself. Ready to spring into action if need be.

Three step. The young woman holds onto the footboard of the bed. Her entire body trembling. Four step. Stop. She bites her lip a little, "This was a terrible idea." She whispers to herself, feeling her legs slowly give way. Falling against the doorway, she manages to catch herself before hitting her head.

"Charlie." The blonde quickly stands, rushing to her side, half asleep, "What were you thinking?"

Charlie swallows, chin dimpling with emotion, "I can do it...I could do it." She tries to pull away, to crawl away to the bathroom, wanting to maintain her independence.

"Sweetheart, let me help you."

"No!" She shouts, pushing herself to a sitting position against the wall in the hallway. Tears in her eyes, she shakes her head, "No, I need to do this on my own."

Bernie follows after her, taking a seat next to her daughter, against the wall. She can sense her frustration, wanting to take it from her. "I am all for you pushing the boundaries...wanting to walk exactly how you did before. I am, truthfully. However, without proper precautions, you could have-"

"Hit my head?" Charlie finishes her thought, bringing her fist up and slamming it onto the wooden floor after a moment.

"Calm down. You aren't doing yourself any favors."

Serena makes her way to the door, standing just outside of view. She listens to the mother and daughter duo speak. Having thoughts to the things she never got to experience with her own daughter. Serena knows Bernie was never really close with her children, but if it weren't for Charlotte taking ill, she probably wouldn't be. She clears her throat, stepping through the doorway, "Your mother is correct...and I'm not just saying that because I'm fond of her." Serena steps over to them, taking a seat on the floor, against the wall as well. She watches as Charlie moves past them in some sort of half assed Army crawl toward the toilet, noticing her girlfriend ready to follow after. However, she places a hand on the woman's arm, holding her back. "Let her go. She can do that herself, Mumma Wolfe."

Bernie releases a breath she wasn't aware she was holding, "She could have really hurt herself, but she doesn't seem to understand that."

"Then we'll buy her a helmet and some knee pads." She shakes her head a little, knowing Charlotte needed to take risks to learn lessons. Noticing her partner give an amused smirk, she reaches over to take the woman's hand. "You can't run yourself ragged over her being here, Berenice. It's what's best for her...to be with us. She's happy here, just not thrilled with her current situation."

Silence falls between them for a moment, "It really is terrifying."

"I know." Serena swallows, "We'll...protect her though. Maybe a mobility walker would help? I can speak to her physio about it."

"I don't want her doing that at all, though. I want her to...just stay in the chair, where it's safe." Bernie explains, using her hand a little as she does so, "At no time does she need to take unnecessary risks."

"A wise person once said _the greatest risk is to take no risk at all._ I'm not exactly sure who said it first, but there were tons of people to say it after." Charlie stands in the doorway of the bathroom, watching the pair as she leans against the frame, "I'm sorry, but...risk is all I have. I know you don't like it, Mum, I understand, but..." She shrugs, shaking her head a little, "What type of person am I if I don't just explore the possibility."

"You could have broken a bone, intensified your concussion, dislocated...something." The blonde glances up toward her, "I get your anger, Charlie, I really do. However, doing something recklessly is just so...stupid." She can't think of a better word for the moment, "You're ridiculously brilliant and...you're so much better than to result to hurting yourself needlessly."

"It isn't needless to me." Charlie slowly sinks to the floor, using the doorframe to guide herself, doing her crawl back to the women, "You can't have omelets without breaking a few eggs."

Serena nods a little, "You're right, but...let's get a few more sessions of physio in before you take more risks. Can you agree to that?" She glances to the young woman at the top of her eyes, still not over the bruises around her neck, nor the one across her check. "Or I'll make you wear a helmet."

"I can agree to that." The young woman glances to her mother, "You can sleep in your room, you know."

"What about a slumber party?" The silver haired woman offers, "I have trouble falling asleep without her, but I know there's no way she's going to let you go alone tonight." She winks, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "Would that be okay with you?"

"Being all cuddled up between my two Mums?" Charlie grins, laying back on the wooden floor, amused, "Nothing like a twenty-nothing sleeping in bed with her parents."

"She's very comfortable." Bernie motions to her girlfriend, snorting a little in a chuckle.

"Your Mum is a cuddler." Serena smirks, helping the young woman back to her bedroom with her girlfriend, surprised she was allowing them to virtually lift her from the floor and carry her there. "Hopefully you are too...I think that's why I have trouble sleeping now."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Charlie glances between the women, truly amused.


	21. Chapter 21

Sitting on the sofa within the ground floor lounge, Charlie leans against her brother. His arm tentatively around her as they watch some quiz show about current events and general knowledge. "That would be the Sistine Chapel." Waiting for a moment when they say they correct answer, repeating what she just said. "Told you."

"How could you possibly know that?" Cameron raises a surprised eyebrow. "You took childhood development, not at history."

"Wrong, one semester of art history." She gives him an amused wink, "when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do."

"Feels like you went to school forever."

"Because I did." Charlie smiles ever so slightly, letting it fade after a moment, "If I ask you something, will you be completely honest with me?" She continues to face away from him just staring at the television.

Cameron isn't exactly sure where she's going with this, furrowing his brow, "I can do that, sure."

"What happened to Mitchy Duncan?" The room grows cold and quiet. She's sure if the television wasn't broadcasting white noise, she could have heard a pin drop. When a moment passes and her brother doesn't answer, she tries again, "Cam?"

"What does it matter? He hurt you." He, himself, failed her multiple times now. Cam doesn't want to fail her again. "You're safe, that's all that matters."

"It isn't though. I need to know." Charlie pushed herself up to sit straight, glancing to her brother. "Is he dead?" When she sees him nod ever so slightly, she continues, "Did you kill him?" She notices him not respond, "We can say I killed him...if you did, Cam."

"Let's not worry about it, yeah?" He knows his parents, and Serena, would kill him if he spawned anxiety in the young woman.

"I do worry about it, though. I won't let anything happen to you when it comes to him." The young woman holds her arms, "or ever. You're my brother, and I may be...younger, but...I am also the tougher sibling." Charlie smirks a little, waiting for him to protest, her face falling a little when he does not. "Cam, come on. This is me. You can talk to me. I need to hear these things from you because you and I both know Mum and her girl keep plenty from me as it is."

"I really can't, Char. I promised them I wouldn't and I'm a man of my word." Cameron shakes his head, "I can get us some popcorn or tea though. How about that?"

"What about some rum and a fag?"

"You should really stop smoking."

"And you should really grow a pair." Charlie does not glance to him, knowing her words would be enough, "Scared of his Mum and her girlfriend..."

"Char, please, don't start." Cameron shakes his head, glancing over to her. "If you want to know, maybe ask them."

"They weren't there. You were." The young woman finally glances over, "They would only be repeating stories that you've told them. I'd rather hear it from your lips." Charlie shrugs, "I don't think that's asking too much...to ask what's happened from someone who was somewhere at the same place and same time that I was. Doing it so you have the upper hand?" The sees him shake his head negatively again, "Then what?"

"I said I wouldn't." He makes eye contact with her, "I really can't, Charlotte. Speak with Mum...or Dad. Take your pick." He takes a deep breath, "You're impossible, you know that? I'm telling you that I won't tell you for your own safety. Do you get that the slightest spark of anxiety sends you into an epileptic fit? Why do you keep pushing and pushing, Charlie?" Cameron yells at her, immediately regretting it once he notices the tears in her eyes, "Why do you need to know so badly?"

Charlotte swallows, facing forward again, "I see these bruises on my neck...and on my face. I know they're fresh and couldn't possibly be from my incident before when everything else happened. I've had bruises on my legs and arms that I know were from being pissed the night prior, but...nothing like this. I mean, I can make out finger marks." She gently touches her neck so he knows what she's talking about. "How did he die, Cam?"

"He just did." Cameron shakes his head, "You're not getting anything from me."

Bernie pushes open the door to the home she shares with her girlfriend, hearing her children yelling at one another in the lounge. She stands in the doorway, her hands at her sides, an unamused expression covering her face. "Excuse me." She calls out, not really raising her voice, but it was such a low octave that it would hit both of the other people in the chest. "What the hell is going on?"

Charlie shakes her head, "Absolutely nothing. Everything is fine, Mum." Her arms folded again. She'd get to the bottom of all of this if it was the last thing she ever did. "Mum, weird question, you said that DS Morgan died, correct?" When the blonde nods, she continues, "Do you think I could go and visit his daughter and wife? I mean...I know I don't remember them too well, but...I'd like to offer condolences. Send them something, maybe."

She licks her lips a little, walking closer to her children, the fact that her daughter was blatantly changing the subject not getting past her, "Charlotte, I'm afraid they all perished...all three of them. They would have lost too much blood at the scene really." Bernie reaches a hand over, gently touching her daughter's knee, "I'm so sorry, Charlie."

"She was...she was so young." The younger woman bites her lip, "Damn it." Her voice at a whisper, "They deserved better."

"You're right." Bernie nods, glancing to her son, "Are you staying for dinner?" She glances to him, "And are the two of you going to tell me what you both were arguing about?"

"No, I'll...We can talk about it later." Charlie doesn't look to either of them, still overcome with the thought of the young girl.

Cameron shakes his head a little, "No, I can't stay, Mum. I'm sorry. Thank you for the offer though." The young man stands, gently pressing a kiss against his mother's messy blonde hair. "Love you, Mum." He gives his sister a look over the other woman's head so that his mother doesn't see it, leaving them to their own devices.

The younger woman rolls her eyes, unamused by her brother. "Bloody idiot." She mumbles to herself, glancing away.

"I don't like it when the two of you argue." Bernie shakes her head.

"We weren't arguing, we were just having a disagreement. Now it's over because he left, so...don't worry about it, okay?" Charlotte swallows, "Did um...Megan Morgan...did she go quickly?"

"She didn't survive surgery. Didn't feel a thing."

"Good...I...That's the last thing I would have wanted." The young woman folds her arms, glancing away, "I'm...really tired. Can you help me upstairs-"

"Just nap here. I can help you up after dinner, but I'd rather you stay here." Bernie explains, wanting the young woman to spend some time outside of her quarters. "I can make us some tea and we can go through the takeaway menus. How does that sound?"

Charlotte licks her lips, listening to her mother's words. She needs the woman now, her mere presence reassuring enough for Charlie. "I would like that." The young woman's voice is just above a whisper, full of emotion and even a sense of guilt. A young girl, and her family, lost their lives for no reason whatsoever. Life honestly wasn't fair.


	22. Chapter 22

"I can't seem to shake the feeling that my children are hiding something from me." Bernie lounges with her partner in the bed they share. Turned to her side with her head propped up on her elbow, "And I don't know what it could possibly be concerning, but I'm...nearly positive they're doing it."

"Did you ask them?" Serena raises her brows, reaching a hand over to run through her girlfriend's hair. "They don't usually keep things from you, do they?"

"Other way around mostly." She sighs a little, "I suppose I-"

"Berenice." The silver haired woman scolds a little, "things aren't the same way they were before. Your children think the absolute world of you." She leans in, gently pushing her lips against the other woman's, "Suspecting the worst isn't good for you or them."

"You weren't there." Bernie mumbles, shaking her head, rolling onto her back to stare toward the ceiling.

"Oh, come now." Serena scowls, "Explain to me what the children could be keeping from you, would you?"

"I think she knows." Her voice quiet, yet it hits her girlfriend in the chest, as it usually does. "I think Charlie knows Mitchell Duncan is dead and that she's the one that killed him. I think she remembers a great deal from that night. I don't know if...she's even affected by it. Char was obviously attacked, the strangulation marks around her neck are proof of that." Bernie licks her lips, head tilting to glance towards her partner, "I don't know if Cam told her or if she discovered it on her own."

"Does it matter?" She softly presses a kiss against Bernie's shoulder, "She needs to know, Bern. Charlie should hear it from one of us before she remembers it...or has nightmares about it."

"I wish there was something where I could just make her forget that. I want her to remember other things, but that...she doesn't need to." Bernie takes a deep breath, releasing it calmly, "I suppose it's all or nothing."

"She must learn to control her emotions again. I'm not certain how she was before, I haven't had many encounters with her prior to her being admitted to Holby, but she seemed quite reserved. I'm sure they wouldn't have hired her to be a teacher if she was off the rails." Serena explains, "We just need to be patient and honest with her. Hiding things is just going to increase the anxiety. At least, that's what I feel about not knowing things myself."

"Ditto." She turns to her side again, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend, the room falling quiet. "I love you."

"I love you too." The silver haired woman leans in, capturing the lips of her partner once more, "This is what life partners do for one another. Help one another through hard times."

"Yeah, I've...I've never had anyone I trusted enough to do that for me before...I thought I did, but they weren't you." Bernie smirks ever so slightly, "I'm glad my children have you as their champion as well. I'd want no other."

"Well, it's too late to try to get rid of me anyway." Serena grins, kissing her again, "I've fallen madly in love with you, you see, and I'm not about to let that go. Cameron and Charlotte are just icing on that delicious slice of cake." She hums, giving another kiss.

 _Screaming. Low, more of a yell. Nothing high pitched. Fear induced scream._ Bernie meets her partner's eyes before they both rush from the bed toward her daughter's room, finding the young woman sitting up in bed, "Char, what's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"The pen." Charlotte's face wet with sweat and tears, "The...I had it on my night table. Where is it?" When she notices the women's confused faces, she continues, "I...I stabbed Mitchy in the neck..." The young woman swallows, "He was sitting over there and he walked to me...and..." Charlie absently touches her neck, "I stabbed him...I killed him, didn't I?" She didn't need an answer, she tries to push herself off the bed more, "I need to turn myself in...the police should know."

"No, Charlotte." Serena walks closer to her, "They already know everything." She sits next to the young woman on the bed, wanting to wrap an arm around her, and show her reassuring affection, but she decides against it. Not wanting to cross any boundaries. "I'm sure they will speak to you later, but they know everything...and you haven't anything to worry about."

"Cam spoke with them?" She swallows, "He might not tell them the truth...he wouldn't speak to me yesterday..."

"Just earlier today." Bernie corrects, folding her arms as she stands in front of the young woman, slowly crouching. "Charlotte, what you did was self defense. He was going to kill you and you protected yourself. That's all there is to it. He obviously had...ill intentions or else he wouldn't have been here in the first place."

"And I didn't have ill intentions when I grabbed my biro?" Charlie's brow furrows, confusion and anger mixing together and shown all over her face. "He may have been an absolute loon, but he didn't deserve death...especially not like that. Not the way I stole his life from him."

"Char, I think you would have hit him with whatever you could have grabbed. If you didn't do that, you wouldn't be here right now, do you understand that?" The blonde attempts to get through to her daughter, "You would be dead."

"No parent should ever go through losing a child." Serena says quietly, looking to the pair's display. She swallows, finally wrapping an arm around the young woman, "And I'll be damned if I'm burying another one over something that could have otherwise been prevented."

Charlotte listens finally, running a hand through her hair before leaning sideways against her mother's partner. She nods a little, "Doesn't make it any easier...knowing what I did."

"It shouldn't, but you aren't the first one in this family to do so. We're surgeons. We lose patients because we're unable to save them. Some from elective surgeries that would otherwise be absolutely fine. We cut them open and maybe we nick something or they have a tear that we otherwise couldn't have known about and...we lose them." The silver haired woman continues, gently rubbing the younger woman's back.

"And I know thirteen ways to kill someone with my bare hands...I've only had to use five of them, but I still did it. Not even counting the patients I've lost during my time of being the _best trauma surgeon in all of England_." Bernie finally moves to the other side of her daughter, attempting to cheer her up only a little, taking her hand once it's offered. "It may seem hard now, and you may never forget it, but there are so many people who don't have the luxury to be alive that should be. So many young people perishing over nothing..."

"Like my Elinor." Serena swallows, giving a slight smile, "You did the right thing, Charlotte." She presses a kiss against the young woman's hair, closing her eyes ever so slightly.

Bernie watches the two of them. She thought they were bringing Charlotte to their home in an attempt to help her recuperate after her surgeries and ordeal, but she knows it was to help Serena through her own as well. This is only just a portion of her family, but she wouldn't trade them for anything in the entire world.


End file.
